BMFM: After AIM
by StarlitxSky
Summary: Three years have passed since the events of Always In Motion and life has settled into a comfortable routine for everyone. But one young hybrid is about to discover something that's going to disrupt his routine for a long, long time.
1. Part 1: Discovery

**Note:** I decided not to call this particular followup 'tangents' since a tangent is something that wanders off from the main point. The previous sets of tangents while sometimes housing foreshadowing or plots continued in later entries were still each a self-contained short story. In this case each entry follows one unifying plot thread from start to finish, making it more of a mini sequel than a tangent series.

As with the tangents, rating and content fluctuates from chapter to chapter, but for the most part it stays PGish. Special thanks go to MayaPatch, who inspired this entire thing with her innocent question of whether or not the young hybrids in this series are, like Ashlin, sterile. Thank you and enjoy.

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><p>(<em><strong>Side note:<strong> Grammatical and spelling errors that appear later this chapter were done on purpose, since I thought they fit the character making them. It was mildly torturous to force myself to do this. The ways we suffer for our craft..._)

**Part 1: Discovery**

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><p>It was a great day for a party, and Vector <em>loved<em> parties. Plenty of free eats, enough root beer to drown in, friends and family crammed in around you until you felt pleasantly smothered. The back room of Slingshot's was reserved just for them today, and everyone was here: his parents and baby sister, his best bud, both his 'uncles' and their families, and the extended brood from Malteria. General Jayce was standing near his sister, with his mate and daughter hovering close by. His son Dirk was over at the snack table - a boy after his own heart.

Vector was much more interested in the ladies of the group, both young and old - because when they were Imeeran it didn't make much difference. They stayed hot even when they were hundreds of years old, which was just fine by him. In fact, he was pretty sure Imeerans were his favorite kind of female. He loved how they came in an endless variety of colors - sizes too. Some were big enough to make him feel intimidated while others were so small he could probably carry them like a doll. It wasn't something he let get around, but he kind of liked to imagine moving to Malteria so he could be surrounded by all that multicolored beauty day in, day out. Better than living in a candy store.

Too bad all the ones in the room right now were taken - except Chloe, that is. She had grown taller than her tiny mom but still had the same kind of delicacy to her, the same sweetness - yet she definitely had a sassy streak. Vector thought her cotton candy pink skin and frosty white hair made her awfully cute.

Everyone's attention was on the guest of honor, whose mom was hovering over, voice coaxing. "Come on, sweetie," said Tamerin, "blow out the candles."

She demonstrated without actually blowing; Thea quickly caught on and extinguished the trio of candles perched atop her small pink cake. Everyone cheered, making her giggle in delight. She was only three, but she knew to sit back in her booster seat and wait while the candles were taken away and the cake was sliced. Her dad fussed over her in the meantime, straightening her bib and making sure she had a plate and a set of pink utensils.

Thea's life had a lot of pink in it. Vector couldn't blame her parents; the rolly-polly little critter didn't have anything about her yet that really showed that she was a girl, though he personally thought her big blue eyes and dark lashes were an obvious giveaway. It wasn't an uncommon issue; lots of girl mouse babies got mistaken for boys when they were still in their chubby and hairless stage. To compensate, their parents would dress them in frilly dresses and lacy bloomers. Thea's parents did the same, often completing the girly look with a ribbon around her fuzzy head, tied in a bow in front of one of her round ears.

After everyone had a slice of cake, it was time for presents, which were as predictable as you'd expect for a three-year-old's birthday. Picture books, dolls, a few cutesie outfits, educational games. Thea kept quiet as she unwrapped each gift, her big eyes growing even bigger and shining with delight. It made Vector a little jealous; his own birthday was months away.

Once all the presents were opened and the snack table emptied, most of them moved to the arcade. He managed to pry Saber away from Joy long enough to start a friendly contest - which he ended up winning. But Saber almost looked happy about losing if it meant he was free to get back to his wife, so Vector didn't gloat very hard. Now that Saber was officially his brother he didn't think it would hurt if he and Joy took a time out from each other for a little while. Maybe even five whole minutes.

The younger members of the group stayed in the arcade, while the adults went to the restaurant section of the bar for coffee and more root beer - except for Thea's mom. She hung out in the arcade for the rest of the day and blasted past all their best scores - including his. Vector didn't mind as much as he would have if he had been beaten by one of the guys, seeing how she was mother of the birthday girl and all. Not to mention hot.

When it finally came time to wrap things up and go home, Vector groaned in disappointment; he hated to see the day come to an end. But come to an end it did, Thea's dad carrying the sleepy birthday girl with one arm and the bags holding all her goodies with the other. Rimfire and Bevra decided to stay in the restaurant for dinner before heading home, but the rest of them were leaving. Jayce transported back to Malteria with his family, and Joy stepped outside with her brother, with Saber at their heels.

Vector took a deep breath; the night air felt cold and refreshing in his lungs after being cooped up in the stuffy arcade for so long. Smirking suddenly, Joy punched his shoulder. "I'll beat you next time," she vowed.

"Were you even playing against me today?"

"No, but that's besides the point."

Vector rolled his eyes; she snickered and punched him again. Her small fists had a harder impact than you'd think they would.

His brandywine eyes full of affection, Saber put his arm around her. "You ready to go?"

"Uh-huh."

Joy glanced at her brother. "You're okay riding home alone, right?"

It was an absent, rhetorical question, and the two of them walked away without waiting for an answer, heading to where they'd parked their bikes. Vector felt the relaxed smile that had been on his face all evening fade. His eyes slowly drifted from couple to couple as they left the bar and grill together. His parents, Uncle Throttle and family, Uncle Modo and his. His sister and best friend, walking with their arms tightly around each other.

Yeah. He was okay riding home alone. And being at home. All alone.

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><p>Working in the garage was extra dull after such a fun day, and Vector spent most of the following morning swallowing huge yawns. It was a slow kind of morning to boot, with only a little repair work and a bit of cleanup on his schedule. Joy was already finished and gone for the day...little showoff.<p>

He wasn't the only one who was bored. Dad was restless and looking for trouble, deliberately getting in his wife's way as she worked and poking her with his tail when she dodged by, to her further irritation. Finally, Dad quit his version of foreplay, grabbed Mom by the waist and tossed her casually over his shoulder. "You're working too hard," he said frankly. "We're going to go play whether you like it or not."

"Vinnie, not in front of the customers," Mom scolded, squirming in embarrassment as she tried to wiggle free.

"What customers?" Vector asked innocently.

The shop portion of the garage was empty right now. It was just them and a few of the other mechanics, who were watching the owners in amusement. "You can keep an eye on things out here for a few hours, right?" Dad asked. "This little lady's got wing nuts that need tightening."

"Don't even know what that's supposed to mean. And please don't explain it to me."

Dad merely grinned before turning and heading out of the room. On the way he gave his wife a sharp slap on the butt, making her yelp and kick her feet. She continued to grumble and struggle as the two disappeared into another section of the garage...though she wasn't struggling very hard.

Shaking his head, Vector went back to work. He stayed busy with the repairs on a small bike model for several hours before he was finished. Yawning, he stretched for a minute before wiping his hands off and putting his tools away. He was just about to close his toolbox when he spied a slip of folded white paper tucked inside the lid.

Great. Mom must have thought up another job for him.

With the sound of the other mechanics at work behind him, Vector plucked the paper from the lid and unfolded it. And the world seemed to fade away until the only thing he was aware of were the words on the small page.

_Seeing you smile brings a light to my world that wasn't there before._  
><em>Hearing you laugh makes the sun feel warmer, the stars shine brighter,<em>  
><em>and everything I taste seem sweeter. Watching you happy makes me<em>  
><em>feel a joy I've never known.<em>

Minutes ticked by and he was still standing there, quietly gawking at the wrinkled paper in his hand. Well, damn, was his first thought. Somebody seriously had the hots for him.

And who can blame her? he asked himself, as he turned to grin at his reflection in a hubcap that was hanging on the wall. Just look at him. He had it going on in pretty much every way possible.

He grinned at and admired himself a few moments more, combing his fingers through his forelock, before returning his attention to the love note. In his mind he was already trying to imagine where and when he had sparked this lucky lady's attention - it could have been just about anywhere and at any time, since he was all kinds of awesome at every second. Could've even happened here at the garage; that seemed the most likely scenario, since he found the note in his toolbox. It was easy to picture a shy lady mouse customer being enthralled by him and his mad mechanic skills and leaving her intimate thoughts where she knew he'd find them.

Although picturing that his secret admirer was a lady mouse made his excitement dip a notch. Not that there was anything wrong with lady mice. He just had a strong taste for ladies of the furless variety. Couldn't be helped; it was in his genes. Trips and family vacations to Malteria and Earth were always his favorite, because he got to gaze at all the glossy-skinned females his eyes could stand.

They had to be more sensitive in virtually every way, too, since there was no barrier between their skin and intimate touches. Even a soft caress with his fuzzy fingers was bound to give a girl like that the chills, gentle nips with his teeth would make her shiver...

Shaking his head to dispel the mounting fantasy, Vector shoved the note into his back pocket and slapped his toolbox shut. He was getting a little carried away. It was just a note. It didn't mean there were going to be more. Or that he would actually find out who wrote it. He doubted this would lead anywhere at all.

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><p>A few days went by, and just when Vector forgot about the note, he found another one. And another one after that. And another. And another. Before long, he was hunting for them daily and was disappointed if one didn't show up. But even when he had his eye out for them, they always took him by surprise. He would get distracted by something or start thinking about something else, and up one would pop. They showed up just about anywhere, too: at work, out in town, when he was taking it easy in Slingshot's. It was like the note-leaver knew all his habits and just where to find him.<p>

He always wanted his own secret admirer-slash-stalker.

It was fun. It was like a game they were playing; she knew where to find him but he had no idea where - or who - she was. But he was going to find out. He didn't know how, but he was going to find his little messenger girl. He had no plan on what to do after that, but he'd think about that part later.

The notes themselves were a nice stroke to his ego. Most of them were like the first one; sweet and poetic. Others were shorter, sometimes only one line, and looked like they were written in a hurry. Others were longer and more like love letters. And some were even kind of sad.

_Seeing you happy always makes me smile. But_  
><em>sometimes I think about how you'll never be mine,<em>  
><em>and then I start to cry.<em>

They wouldn't know that for sure until they actually met now would they?

Most of the notes were happy, heaping praise and compliments on him. And then the bomb was dropped.

_I wish I wasn't shy. I wish I wasn't so afraid. I wish I could be_  
><em>the one to hold you when you're down. The one to wipe your<em>  
><em>tears when you cry. The one to share your joy when you laugh.<em>  
><em>I wish I could be there for it all, and be everything to you that you<em>  
><em>are to me.<em>

_And you are everything to me. You are the sun, the moons_  
><em>and the stars to me. I wish I could tell you face to face that<em>  
><em>I love you.<em>

After the shock of _that_ little revelation wore off, Vector quickly went back and reread all the other notes - to make sure he wasn't actually dealing with some creepy psycho he should be alerting the authorities about. But he didn't get that vibe from any of his sweet, tender notes. No lamentations of 'if only we knew each other' or 'I wish we could meet' or 'if I can't have you, no one can.'

Which made something finally dawn on him; maybe this wasn't a stranger writing to him all this time. Maybe he and this girl already knew each other but she didn't know how else to express her feelings.

When that thought came to him, it made him feel pretty stupid. There couldn't actually be someone in his life who was in love with him without him knowing it...could there? He tried picturing every girl he knew: regulars at Slingshot's, customers at the garage, girls he'd gone to school with. He knew lots of girls. How was he going figure out which one was the note sender?

He spent days puzzling over it, barely paying attention to his work as he kept one eye out for more notes and another eye out for any and every girl that walked by. He started making a mental list of all the ones that seemed the most likely to be leaving the notes - and then he took it a step further, sitting down at his home computer one day and writing down every girl he could think of, even ones whose name he didn't know, followed by the likelihood of them being his note-leaver based on how much opportunity they each had. He followed that with a long list of personal traits and qualities he felt added or subtracted to their likelihood of leaving notes instead of handling this face to face.

It all got a lot more complex than he planned it to, but categorizing and analyzing every little detail gave him a better idea what he was dealing with. And looking at everything he had gone over so far...he had absolutely no clue who his secret admirer could be.

Leaning back in his computer chair with a groan, Vector rubbed his eyes for a moment. This mystery was really starting to take over his life; his desk was littered with love notes, and the rest of his home was messier than usual. It was too bad Saber wasn't still around. He cleaned like a girl.

Still leaning back in his chair, Vector absently plucked a note from the pile and passed it under his nose. Some of them had a faint odor, a ghost of something subtle and sweet. Like cinnamon and brown sugar. Did his mystery woman bake? As a sucker for sweets, he could only hope.

After taking another sniff, his eyes focused on the note he was holding. Some of these were almost enough to make even him blush - almost. He really needed to find the person who saw him this way.

_Your smile is my sun,_  
><em>your eyes the stars in my sky,<em>  
><em>the warmth in your heart the<em>  
><em>center of my universe.<em>

A chiming noise made him look up. The default messaging program his computer came with had just popped open, signaling that someone was trying to talk to him.

In a time gone by, the notion of Mars having a digital network was laughable, but these days computer linkup was becoming more and more common. And someone with brains like his was right on top of all the latest developments in technology. There was more to him than just his looks, after all.

He scooted his chair closer and peered at the screen; his own icon peered back at him from the upper right corner of the program. A picture of himself - naturally - taken from his best angle and capturing his best grin. And in the text box below was a brief message.

**Are you busy?**

He quickly scanned the column to the left, where everyone on his contact list was displayed. The person who messaged him the most was fellow techie Michio but his icon was grayed out, indicating that he was offline. Vector frowned at the small square in the upper left corner of the message box; it was empty. No icon was visible, and the space underneath where the screen name should have been displayed was blank.

There was no name in the text box either. So, he was dealing with a crafty little hacker, was he? Blocking your info took skill.

Intrigued, he tapped his fingers on the desk for a second, then typed: **not really, you?**

There was a pause, and then: **I was hoping I could to talk to you for a little while.**

**sure**, he typed back, while thinking to himself, why not? His curiosity was piqued.

There was another pause, then: **Are you feeling all right?**

**of course**, he responded, confused. **why wouldnt i?**

**You usually get so sad this time of year.**

For a long moment Vector stared blankly at the screen, confusion growing - and then it hit him, making his face warm and his throat tighten uncomfortably. He'd been so distracted by the mysterious notes he'd completely forgotten; Astrid's birthday was coming up. Or at least it would be if...

This was getting a little too personal for a casual PC conversation. Never one to be anything but blunt, he typed: **do i know you?**

**Yes.**

**have we met in person?** he pressed.

**Yes.**

Unconsciously clacking his teeth, Vector sat back a little, thinking what to say next...and then his gaze focused on the scattered piles of love notes cluttering his desk. He became aware of a faintly sweet odor.

His excited fingers flew across the keyboard. **are you the one whose been leaving me all these notes?**

There was another pause - a really long one. The white half-mouse fidgeted anxiously in his seat as he waited for a reply.

And then...

**Yes.**

"Aha," Vector cried out loud. Dozens of questions were pouring into his mind, but with one hand he typed out the question that had been on his mind the most these last few weeks...while with the other hand he started up a new program.

Part of him was really hoping for an honest answer, while part of him kind of doubted he'd get one - would _he_ be able to be honest if put on the spot like this? - but...he had to know. So he asked: **do you really love me?**

He expected to fidget through another long pause, but there wasn't one.

**I do. With all my heart.**

His face warmed again, but for a very different reason. As he kept one eye on the meter now filling next to the message box, he thought for a moment, then typed: **have we known each other long?**

**Yes.**

**like really long?**

**Yes.**

Pursing his lips because he was getting annoyed with the repetitive answers and because he was feeling stupid again for not realizing someone he'd known for years was hot for him, Vector typed: **is it possible to get something out of you besides yes?**

There was a pause. **Maybe.**

"Cute," Vector mumbled aloud, eyes flicking to the now half-full meter. It was obvious that his secret admirer wasn't going to volunteer information about herself, so he decided to keep trying to gently extract what he could as he stalled for time, and hopefully without scaring her away. **have we seen each other recently?**

**I've seen you, but you probably didn't see me.**

**why not?**

**You don't notice me. Why else do you think I'm contacting you like this?**

He had been hoping it was because she was too shy to approach him but still super-cute, but now his hopes were replaced with disappointment. He always noticed cute girls - especially the hairless ones. So that probably meant she was plain as can be and a mouse. Bummer.

Still, he thought, as his eyes drifted over the clutter of love notes, it was worth investigating someone who was so into him. **can i at least get a hint what you look like?**

**Not yet**, was the response, after another pause. **One day I'll tell you everything. But not yet.**

While smiling wryly, Vector typed: **sure, i can wait**

He wouldn't have to wait very long. The meter was almost full, and when it was, he would have total access to his mystery woman's computer. Personal data, files - everything. On Earth invasive technology like this was highly illegal and using it had serious consequences, but since private networking was still relatively new on Mars, laws were only starting to be developed. Not that he didn't feel a little guilty about it and only used such methods when he felt it was absolutely necessary. Not to mention if his mom ever found out, she'd lecture him on privacy - and probably find a way to ground him for a year even though he didn't live at home anymore.

The sense of excitement growing inside him overshadowed the guilt, and he leaned forward eagerly as the meter finished filling. It turned green when it reached the end, and then...

There was an error sound, followed by the meter turning red. A message reading _**Access Denied**_ flashed onscreen.

Vector was momentarily stunned. He'd known from the blocked information that he was dealing with a skilled hacker, but this? This hinted at talent and knowledge that far surpassed what he'd suspected. Your average, casual Martian PC user would not have the knowledge, skill, or means to completely lock anyone out of their system; this took military level intelligence - or access to technology from other planets.

His curiosity mounted to almost painful levels. He was still staring dumbly at the screen when a new message popped up. **You're trying to be naughty.**

"Ummm..."

**you noticed that huh?**

He could practically feel her smirk as his mystery woman typed her response. **I think I better go now. We'll talk again soon, sexy thing.**

"But - wait," the white rodent sputtered as he scrambled to type something. But it was too late; the mysterious blank icon disappeared with a dull humming sound, like a machine shutting down, signaling that his party had gone offline. The message box disappeared too, and when he checked the log later, there was no record of their conversation.

Vector sat staring at the blank screen, aware of the pile of notes at the edge of his vision. He felt both frustrated and tantalized. Disappointment over his admirer possibly being a mouse had vanished; his only thought now was that she was a brilliant hacker, a poet, possibly a baker. And sexy thing?

This was the woman of his dreams. And he wasn't going to rest until he figured out exactly who she was.

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><p>When the notes started to taper off, Vector wasn't surprised. Why leave notes in secret when you could chat live? He still got the occasional mushy poem, usually left near his workbench or on a table he just happened to be sitting down at for dinner in Slingshot's, but for the most part they stopped appearing. Over the next few weeks he spent all his spare time at home, waiting for his mysterious admirer to message him. And when she did, when that enigmatic blank icon showed up and a string of text without a screen name appeared, it always set his heart thumping.<p>

It didn't take him long to figure out that even if he peppered her with questions, he wouldn't scare her away. She simply dodged the ones she didn't want to answer or vaguely replied that she couldn't say anything without saying too much. It always gave him a little thrill, a sense of discovery, when he coaxed something new out of her. At the same time he felt humbled - and strangely vulnerable - when he realized that there didn't seem to be a thing this girl didn't know about him. She knew his favorite color, his favorite bands, favorite shows, his hobbies. It was humbling, but at the same time comforting. They said you couldn't truly love someone until you really got to know them. This girl's feelings for him could only be genuine.

**so how long have you loved me?** he asked one night, as he sat up with a cold root beer and his hopefully hot woman.

**I've admired you for as long as I can remember. You always seem to be having so much fun, no matter what. I realized it was love about two years ago.**

Vector quickly tried to think of something significant that'd happened two years ago and drew a blank. After that eventful year three years ago, life had been pretty routine for all of them. Saber and Joy had set up house together, work continued at the garage, just about everyone fawned over Thea whenever they had the chance. Naturally it was his job to shake things up, keep the others on their toes. And that was exactly what had attracted the little lady? This was definitely the woman for him.

He knew he was being a pest about it, but he couldn't help asking again: **can we meet yet?**

**I don't know. I'm comfortable with this. And I'm afraid of what will happen once you know who I am.**

**you mean besides sweet sweet lovin? ;)**

**Be careful what you wish for, sexy thing. Pleasant dreams.**

Vector groaned out loud as his mystery woman logged off for the night. Sighing, he leaned back in his computer chair and took a long swig of root beer. He had to admit, he understood what she meant about being comfortable. What they were doing had a low risk factor, and relationships were about the only area in existence where he wasn't willing to take risks. But he knew that if they didn't stop playing it safe, they would never get anywhere. A relationship needed more than cryptic messages to grow, to move forward.

His need to meet his mystery woman face to face and take the next step in their budding romance quickly took over his life. She became all he could think about no matter where he was or what he was doing. He daydreamed at work about what it would be like to go out on a real date, he fell asleep at night with their latest conversation replaying in his head.

As the weeks went by he could tell that his loved ones had figured out something was going on, but he wasn't going to tell until he really had something to tell. Having a girlfriend who wouldn't tell him her name, where she lived, or much of anything else (calling her his girlfriend was probably a stretch...) wasn't really something to brag about. No, he planned to wait until he'd unraveled the mystery of his mystery woman. Then he'd start bragging.

**do you bake?** he asked one evening. He found a love note tucked in his toolbox that morning, the folded paper smelling faintly sweet, like chocolate.

**Sometimes,** was the response. **It's mostly a hobby of mine when I'm not at work.**

**where do you work?** Vector wondered.

When his question was met with a lengthy pause, his heart sank. He'd come to recognize that as the signal he had ventured into uncomfortable territory.

**That would give too much away,** she finally answered.

She said goodnight shortly after that, leaving him to wonder why she couldn't talk about her job. Did she do something no one else he knew did? Or did she work with someone he knew who would be able to figure out who she was if he mentioned her to them?

All the wondering and the unanswered questions were really starting to drive him crazy. He didn't want a mystery girlfriend; he wanted someone he could be with freely. Someone he could go on wild rides with. Someone who liked letting loose as much as he did. Someone he could safely hold as tight as he could, and for as long as he wanted to.

**can we please meet?** he begged a few weeks later, after more frustratingly vague conversations that told him tantalizingly little and left him aching to know more. **pleeeaaaase?**

**We've already met,** she reminded him, making him flush.

**i know,** he typed quickly, **i just want to get reacquainted with you face to face. please?**

There was a long pause, and then: **I'm just afraid that you'll be horribly disappointed once you see who I am.**

**how could I be?** he said seriously. **anyone who sees me the way you do is definitely the one for me.**

But he hadn't forgotten her saying that he'd never noticed her before, even know they'd known each other for ages and she'd loved him for two years. He still felt pretty stupid about that, and wasn't too proud to say so. **but ive noticed you now,** he went on. **and i want to see where things go for us. we wont know until we take that chance.**

When she didn't respond, he thought back on their conversations, remembering all the small, innocuous facts he'd learned about her. She liked to swim, her favorite color was aqua, she loved seafood pasta served in a creamy white sauce. She liked to relax in a park with headphones on. She enjoyed reading nonfiction best. The things she liked were a little different than what her friends and family were into, so she ended up spending a lot of time alone. When he asked her she said she didn't mind; she liked doing things her own way.

**it also doesnt seem fair,** he continued when she still didn't answer. **you love me and know everything about me. i know enough to like you but not enough to love you. i want to know all there is to know about you so i can love you like you love me.**

There was another long pause. And then...

**All right. Let's meet.**

Vector whooped for joy, hands lifted in triumph. **where?** he asked eagerly when he was done celebrating. **and when?**

**Tomorrow. Let's meet at the park. Wait for me on a bench by the center path.**

He noted that she didn't suggest he wait by the obvious romantic spot next to the fountain. Which must mean she knew that spending too much time near spouting water made him run to the bathroom.

**all right,** he agreed, barely able to contain his excitement. **see you then.**

**Goodnight, sexy thing. See you soon.**

* * *

><p>Vector barely slept that night, and in the morning he jumped out of bed and ran straight for the shower. After making sure he was clean and that he smelled as good as possible, he took his time picking out his clothes. He eventually decided on his best jeans, snuggest t-shirt, newest denim vest, and finished the look off with his favorite black steel-toed boots. As he headed out the door he absently tied his old blue bandana around his neck.<p>

During the ride to the biggest, most popular park in town, Vector felt Red Ebony let out an extra hum. She was as excited as he was, he realized. "Mystery almost solved, sweetie," he told her, patting one of her handlebars.

She responded with a rumbling buzz, like the heavy purring of a content cat. She continued to hum and buzz happily, until the park was in sight. Then she went strangely quiet and didn't respond when he pulled to a stop and told her to wish him luck. Puzzled, Vector started into the park...and then it hit him.

She was sad that the ride was over so quick. Because where had he gone lately other than to work and back home again? Not to a whole heck of a lot. He couldn't remember the last time he'd gone on a wild ride, just the two of them. Come to think of it, he couldn't remember the last time he'd goofed around with Saber, bikes or no bikes.

He had put aside his most basic of habits for far too long, and as he hurried along the main path that wove through the large park, he silently vowed to get back to his old routines as soon as possible. But for now, he pushed thoughts of friends and joyriding from his mind and continued down the center path, which served as a hub for the other paths. It was a park for family, children, and pets, so there were colorful decorations and playground equipment everywhere, and the paths themselves were merely soft dirt. As Vector moved deeper into the park he was soon surrounded by thick violet grass, dense lavender trees, and gaudy, fragrant golden shrubs.

Beyond the center of the park, where the giant fountain and other attractions were, the main path veered off into a secluded area, with a nearby drinking fountain and a metal bench. It was here that Vector made himself comfortable, though he was too excited to sit still. He fidgeted his feet and absently drummed his hands on his knees, all the while scanning frequently back and forth for any sign of the one he had come here to meet.

That afternoon he saw numerous rodents, mouse and rat alike, all wandering up and down the paths either with children, a significant other, or friends. His heart would speed up every time someone female drew close, but each time they would keep going without so much as a glance at him. He'd been sitting there anxiously for about ten minutes when he heard someone call his name.

He turned his head and saw - with what he hoped wasn't obvious disappointment - Throttle and his family coming toward him. "Don't you have something to fix?" the tan mouse asked as the three of them paused by the bench.

"Nice try," Vector said distractedly, his eyes darting from one end of the path to the other. "The garage is closed today."

"And you're taking it easy by sitting on your butt?"

"I'm meeting someone," the white mouse mumbled.

Throttle gave him a knowing smirk, a look his mate mirrored. Thea merely waved, using her whole arm in that cute way little kids waved, before clutching her mother's hand with both her chubby paws. "Don't do anything that'll bring shame on your family for generations to come," Throttle advised as the trio moved on.

"Great, thanks," Vector responded, too preoccupied to think up a worthwhile retort, or care that he hadn't. His eyes continued to dart across the path and between gaps in the trees, while the minutes ticked on by. He was about ready to fidget clean off his seat - and then he heard something that made him jump to his feet. Someone calling to him - a female someone.

But then his heart sank and he sat back down. It was only his sister.

"What are you doing here?" Joy wondered, as she and Saber stopped in front of the bench, hand in hand.

"Just waiting for someone," said Vector, not really seeing either of them. "You?"

"Relaxing for a change," said his baby sister, her tone drier than the most barren point on Mars. "You know, I've seen so little of you lately I almost forgot what you look like."

"You can always stop by the garage even though you don't work there anymore," Vector said reasonably.

Or so he thought. The stony glares both his sister and best friend gave him suggested otherwise. "You haven't been paying attention to anything lately, have you," said Saber, tone and hardened eyes accusing.

"Did you even read the messages I sent you?" demanded Joy.

"Umm..."

Had anyone else messaged him recently? He hadn't noticed. But it was starting to sink in that he'd missed out on something, and not something small. "I guess I've been a little distracted lately," he said meekly.

Joy let out a huff and folded her arms. "I've barely had a moments rest, thank you. A few weeks ago a surface rat faction got rattled over some rumors that another faction was getting ready to take them out. Some of them wanted to seek protection at the shelter but decided not to leave the ones who refused to. And so all the mothers of young children chose to leave them at the orphanage to keep them safe."

Vector cringed. "Ouch. You must have had your hands full."

"They left over two dozen," said Saber, his sour tone matching his wife's. "Ages ranging from ten to infant. We certainly could have used some extra help."

Now Vector hung his head, his heart flooding with shame. He had gotten far too wrapped up in his mystery woman and had let too much pass him by. He made a promise then and there that no matter what happened today, he'd get things back to normal again.

Before he could think up a proper apology, the two hybrids were already walking away. "We better get back," Joy called over her shoulder. "Enjoy your day off."

"I'll come help tomorrow," Vector called after them lamely. In fact, if no one showed up the next few minutes, he was going to leave. He'd put too much on hold and needed to make up for it, starting with the orphanage.

He sat slumped and continued to wait, absently drumming his hands on his knees again. His eyes roamed, his ears vaguely aware of the footsteps on the path in front of him, on the paths around and behind him. His mind was wandering over the things he needed to do once he got home and he wasn't really paying attention anymore. He didn't listen to the hum of conversation going on around him, didn't try to track the footsteps moving back and forth in front of the bench. Didn't focus in on the soft set of steps that suddenly drew closer.

Not until they stopped next to the bench and someone sat down next to him, and a voice quietly said, "Hi."

Momentarily startled, Vector looked over - and looked ahead at the path again a second later, mind already wandering. "Oh. Hi, Chloe."

She and her family traveled to Mars all the time, so he didn't question why the young Imeeran was here alone. Probably visiting her aunt or something. Eyes on the path and fidgeting with impatience now, Vector vaguely noticed as Chloe started swinging her feet, hands folded on her lap. "This isn't what I picture you doing at this time of day," she noted.

Vector shrugged, unable to argue with her. Sitting in one place wasn't at all like him - though he'd been doing it a lot lately, thanks to being glued to his computer so much. He clacked his teeth as his irritation started to grow; what was keeping her anyway? It was her idea to meet here. Not bothering to show up was just obnoxious and rude. "Five more minutes," he muttered aloud.

"Are you waiting for someone?"

With a heavy sigh, the white rodent slumped further on the bench. "I thought I was. I guess I was wrong."

He glumly watched the path for another few minutes, seeing faces he knew and faces he didn't know, but one thing was clear. No one here today was going to bother with him. With another sigh, he hauled himself to his feet. "I'm going home," he mumbled.

Red Ebony sensed his dour mood and didn't hum with happiness, even when he decided to take a detour and rode around outside the city for a little while. Afterward he moped at home, guzzling down a few bottles of root beer as he gathered up his extensive collection of love notes and poems and dumped them all in a box, just to tidy up his desk a bit. He shoved them back behind his computer monitor and went back out, riding straight to the orphanage.

Despite there being plenty of babies around, Vector had never really spent much time taking care of them, so he supported Joy and the others working at Stardust House in other ways, like going out to fetch supplies and helping put together more cribs. He soon learned that Joy was trying to find temporary foster care for each of the young rats, since there were too many of them to keep at the orphanage, plus they were holding on to the hope that their mothers would come back for them someday. But she also made it clear that the temporary care might turn out to be indefinite, since the rumors of another faction looking to wipe them out proved to be anything but false.

By the end of the day Vector was worn out, but he felt more accomplished than he had in ages, and he crawled into bed that night feeling pleased with himself. As he was drifting off to sleep the memory of his mystery woman bailing on their big meetup tried to scratch its way back, but he pushed it away. He didn't get this far in life just to let something like this get him down, or so he told himself as he resumed life as usual the next morning. He immersed himself in his work before heading back to the orphanage for a few hours, all the while doggedly ignoring the sense of disappointment that kept threatening to creep over him.

When he got home after a fun evening at Slingshot's, complete with arcade time with Saber, his mystery woman was waiting for him. So to speak.

**Are you there?** read a message waiting in a distinctly featureless message box on his computer screen. With equal parts hope and irritation, Vector sat down.

**im here,** he began, **and i was at the park, too. where were YOU?**

**I was there, too.**

**were not,** Vector responded in annoyance. **i waited and waited but you never showed up.**

**I did.**

Muttering under his breath now, Vector typed: **nobody showed up but me. only other ones there were my uncle and my sister. i waited for ages but nobody came up to me and said she was the one leaving me notes and sending me messages.**

There was a long, all too familiar pause. **I was there. I told you that you don't notice me.**

"You gotta be kidding," the white rodent muttered, as he typed: **i wouldnt notice if you came right up to me and said hi?**

**Apparently not. I sat right down beside you. And yes, I said hi. You still didn't notice.**

But that's crazy, Vector thought. How could he not notice someone get that close to him? He stared blankly at that last line of text, yesterday morning replaying in his mind...and then it hit him, leaving him dumbstruck. Someone _had_ sat down beside him yesterday. Someone he barely glanced at and forgot all about just a few minutes later. But it couldn't be...could it?

His hands fumbled for the keyboard - he was sure he was wrong but knew he'd never sleep until he asked. **CHLOE?!**

A second after the one-word message was sent, his mysterious party logged off without comment. Vector sank back in his seat, too stunned for words in any form - and that was no small accomplishment. He just couldn't believe it. Chloe? _Chloe_ was the one who sent him all those notes? Chloe was the one madly in love with him?

It didn't seem possible - and not just because he hadn't known he was so dense he couldn't figure out it was someone so close to him who was pining after him. But now that he _did_ know, the pieces all fit. He'd known Chloe his whole life - or rather he'd known Chloe _her_ whole life. But it wasn't at all uncommon for Imeerans to fall for someone significantly older than them - even hundreds of years older - even if they first met their future mate when they were still a kid. In fact, it was practically an everyday occurrence for a very young Imeeran to fall in love with someone they'd admired their whole life once they got older. Societies that didn't age past twenty years old functioned a little differently than the ones that did.

Then there were the military level hacking skills - something she wouldn't have too much trouble acquiring, given that virtually every member of her family was involved with the military in one way or another and considering how many super-advanced computers she had access to. And she also had direct access to the transporter, which would explain how it was so easy for her to leave notes in the most discreet of places without him or anyone else ever seeing her. It all fit so well he felt like a complete numbskull for not seeing it sooner.

But now that he knew the truth...just what was he going to do about it?

* * *

><p>Vector paced around his bedroom for an hour or so before he finally made up his mind. After making sure he looked his best, he dug his dinged wrist communicator out from the mess piled on his dresser and sent a quick message. A minute later he was running through the transparent tube that led into the Imeeran undercity, oblivious to the perky glow and the colorful sea life swimming outside. Ordinarily the first thing he did when he came here was check out what was new at the game parlor, but today he ignored the urge and stayed off the upper level. He ignored the restaurant that cooked those exotic-tasting hot dogs too, even though his black nose twitched as he ran past. He kept on running and didn't stop until he reached the hospital.<p>

"Is Chloe on duty?" he asked the girl at the front desk.

"Not today," she reported, after checking the computer. "It's her day off, so she could be anywhere."

Vector sure hoped not. "Isn't there something else she does?" he prompted. "Another job, or hobby, or...?"

The pink-haired girl turned thoughtful. "You mean like at the cookie shop? She goes there all the time, so she might be there."

Vector thanked her before running back out, almost banging into a couple coming in. He mumbled an apology and hurried on. He wasn't familiar with a place that sold cookies and had to ask where it was. "You really need to start paying better attention," he reminded himself sourly as he headed to a small shop tucked back near the park. He was still several feet from the open door when he was greeted by a warm fragrance that had his mouth watering. Confectioner's sugar, fudge, vanilla icing, a variety of nuts, and a plethora of other ingredients that had his stomach feeling like it just died and went to heaven. But he ignored his anxious taste buds for now and went up to the front counter.

The place wasn't all that big, but there were still multiple glass counters, display racks and shelves, and a round table draped in white cloth at the center of the store, each one covered in perfectly arranged plates and trays all brimming with cookies and other small treats. The fudge-and-peanut butter squares stacked to perfection on the corner of the front counter practically begged him to come over and gobble them up. Vector gave himself a shake and edged to the middle of the counter. "Is Chloe here?"

The Imeeran he assumed was the shop owner was busy lining up what looked like lemon bars on a tray; he paused and gave the anxious rodent a friendly smile. "Sure, she's in the back. You a friend of hers?"

"Uh-huh," Vector mumbled.

The owner didn't seem to mind if he paid her a visit, so he went around the front counter and through a closed door at the back of the shop. It led to a small room connected to the kitchen, where most of the packing and arranging was done. Chloe was standing at a long table at the back, carefully placing sugar-dusted cookies on a white plate so they neatly overlapped each other. She looked up when he came in; her pink cheeks turned scarlet and she went back to what she was doing.

Vector shuffled closer, hands tucked behind his back. "Ummm..."

He had no clue where to begin, and as he tried to think of something to say his eyes wandered to the plate she was putting together so meticulously. He found himself watching her hands, their movements graceful as she placed each cookie one by one. And those cookies looked darn good, dusted with a mixture of white and brown sugar like they were. "Can I have one?" he blurted.

He cringed as soon as the words were out of his mouth; oh yeah, _that_ was a mature place to start. Chloe looked up and narrowed her eyes at him. "Do you have any money?" she asked.

"Not on me. Just like everyone else on this planet."

Eyes still narrowed, Chloe wordlessly held a cookie out to him. Sensing she was on the defensive, he used the time it took him to munch it down to gather his bearings. He also took the opportunity to look at Chloe - really, truly look at her. He'd seen her countless times before, but now, he was noticing her for the first time. And he had to wonder why the heck he'd never noticed her before.

Just when did she get so grown up? He'd had her solidified in his mind as the small, cute one, but now...

She looked older than sixteen. She wasn't tall, but her slim figure curved in all the right places. Her arms and legs were long and lean, and even though she was eyeing him warily, she held herself straight and with an air of confidence. The knee-length dress she was wearing was feminine and pretty, the aqua color matching the ballet flats on her feet. The white hair tumbling around her bare shoulders looked soft and downy as a cloud. Her aquamarine eyes were round and bright, and framed with long, thick lashes. Her cute nose was a little plumper than the slim bridge that ran in her family, and her pink lips were full and pretty...even though the corners were currently pointing down a little.

All in all, she exuded that special hotness all Imeerans naturally had. But that wasn't why his heart fluttered nervously as he finished the last of his cookie and shuffled a step closer. "So..."

Chloe lifted her white eyebrows questioningly. "So...?"

He grinned crookedly. "I know this is a little awkward for us both right now, but...I'm willing to work through it if you are. Y'know, see where this takes us."

Her eyebrows lifted higher, her eyes widening with a look of hope. "Really?"

Still grinning, Vector shrugged and fumbled in his vest pocket for a moment. "Let me put it this way; I may have been the most oblivious rodent in the galaxy for the last few years or so, but..."

He pulled out the note he'd grabbed before he left and unfolded it. The one where Chloe basically said he was the center of her universe. "The girl who looks at me this way is the only girl for me. I can't picture myself with anyone else. Not anymore."

As he tucked the note back in his pocket, Chloe's eyes started brimming with more than just hope. "Really?" she said again.

She looked about ready to tackle him, and part of him was more than happy to let her. But he turned serious as he placed his hands on her shoulders, moving another step closer. "There's that one tiny thing, though. You look like an adult, but technically..."

"I won't be considered an adult until I'm twenty," she finished. "I know. That's part of the reason I kept quiet about how I feel."

"So no one knows but me?"

She shook her head. "I can understand why it might make one or two people a little upset," said Vector. "Which is why you and I are going to take this super, super slow. No heading in a direction that might end up with you stuck with me for life if on the off chance you change your mind."

"I agree," she said, though her tone and eyes said she didn't think for a second that she would ever change her mind. "Four years is plenty of time for us to figure out exactly how we feel about each other and how we go together, right?"

"Right," Vector confirmed, even though he knew she was talking more about him than herself. He imagined he was going to like the next four years. Four years spent getting to know the one who loved him so much and learning to love her just the same.

Smiling, he tightened his hold on her shoulders and drew her closer. Almost like they'd held each other before, Chloe instantly responded, her arms going around him as she rested her cheek on his chest. His own arms went around her and he held her tight. Really good and tight - closer and tighter than he had ever held a girl before. He let himself pull her against him until he could feel her heart beating. He let himself marvel at how she felt, enveloped in his arms like this. So warm. So strong and so solid. He thought about how he could hold her even tighter without hurting her a bit and felt a lump form in his throat.

Chloe was swallowing thickly herself, and as he placed his hand on her soft hair, he felt her trembling a little. She was so happy she was finally holding him - so happy it was giving her the shakes. Ego stroking quota filled for the day.

Grinning suddenly, he gave her one last squeeze before slowly letting go. Chloe looked reluctant for the moment to end, but the way she smiled as she went back to work told him that she knew it was just the first of many more to come. Still grinning, Vector went to stand beside her and watched as she started on another plate.

"Can I help?"

"I don't know; can you put more on the plate than in your mouth?"

"Probably not."

Chloe chuckled and nudged him with her elbow. "That's what I thought. But it's okay. I still love you."

She said those words so freely and so easily, it made his heart lift in a way he didn't think it ever had before. Feeling strangely light, he stayed with her for the rest of the afternoon, helping almost as much as he got in the way. And deep down, he already knew this was exactly where he wanted to be.


	2. Part 2: Separation

**Part 2: Separation**

* * *

><p>Saber didn't think he had ever been more content with his life. He had a job he enjoyed, a great place to call home, awesome friends, and - most importantly - the prettiest, sweetest wife. It just didn't get any better. With a happy sigh, he kicked off his boots after a satisfying afternoon at work and relaxed on the couch while Joy started on dinner. He'd help, but she was picky about being bothered while she was cooking. The kitchen was her domain, so he reclined on the family room couch with his arms folded beneath his head, feeling comfortably lazy.<p>

It just figured that someone would start pounding the front door's buzzer.

Someone extremely impatient, he noted dryly as he got up to answer it. "I'm coming," he called, exasperated, as the poor buzzer hiccuped like it was choking to death.

The second he hit the button to unlock the front door, someone came flying across the threshold. Someone white-furred, out of breath, and wild-eyed as he grabbed the front of his vest. Saber grunted and tried not to fall backward as Vector shoved him away from the door. "You have to help me," his lifelong friend panted, clearly frantic. "I'm desperate! I don't know where else to go!"

"Really, old buddy, if you need to take a dump, just say so. Bathroom's open."

Vector must have left his sense of humor at home today, because he grabbed his arm and continued to shove him along as he twisted it behind his back. The two of them went awkwardly down the hallway and through the game room doorway before stumbling and falling onto the armless loveseat in a tangled heap. "You know something?" Saber asked, voice muffled as he spoke into a throw pillow. "That's getting old."

With a crack that split the air, he whipped his tail up and snared the end around his best friend's neck. Rat tails were longer, thicker, and stronger than anything a full-blooded mouse (or a half-human mouse like Vector) had, and he was able to pry the unreasonable rodent off with ease. While Vector struggled crankily, he calmly turned himself over and pinned an elbow to his chest. "You were saying?"

To his surprise, the white half-mouse stopped struggling and deflated like a balloon, ears and antennas drooping. "I messed up. I messed up bad. This has got to be the dumbest thing I've ever done."

Saber hummed thoughtfully. "Now _that_ would be a hard call."

Scowling, Vector snapped his tail against his shoulder. The sable hybrid felt pleased with himself that he took the blow without flinching. Getting rock-hard muscles from lifting crates all day had its perks. "I'm serious," his best friend insisted. "Does it look like I'm joking?"

As he took another look at him, Saber realized how shaken he was. Whatever happened had left fear behind his eyes. Frowning, he slowly released his grip and sat up. "What'd you do?"

Vector stayed lying flat, his dark eyes shifting to the ceiling. Like he didn't want to look him in the eye as he answered. "I got her pregnant."

The sable hybrid felt his stomach drop out. "You _what_?"

His best friend hid his face in his hands with a groan. "I know," he cried, "I know! You don't have to tell me how much I screwed up, I freakin' _know_!"

Saber's mind was reeling so hard he had to lean a hand on the back of the loveseat. "We're talking about Chloe, right?" he asked dazedly.

Vector lowered his hands and nodded. Saber pressed his other hand to his spinning forehead. "You realize what this means?"

"Yes," was the groaning response. "We're bonded forever."

"And you're okay with that?" the sable hybrid questioned dryly.

There was a pause, and then Vector sat up, expression serious. "Yes," he said again. "I love Chloe with all my heart. I wasn't sure if that would happen when we first got together, but it did. She's the only one I want for the rest of my life."

This admission surprised him - just like the news that his best friend was secretly seeing the young Imeeran in the first place had. As far as he knew, he and Joy were the only ones who were aware of the relationship. Saber could understand why neither of them wanted Chloe's parents to know just yet, but since he didn't figure the two of them getting together would lead to anything, he hadn't thought much of it when he found out. Now that he knew how far things had gone, he had to shake his head in shock. "She's just a kid."

"She's not," Vector said defensively. "She's very mature, and she's almost seventeen."

"That's still underage," Saber pointed out.

"I know," said the white half-mouse, tone turning meek. "That's why we agreed we were going to take things super slow until she turned twenty. By then I figured I'd know for sure how I felt about her, plus it'd be okay to tell her parents."

"Uh-huh. And what exactly happened to this little agreement?"

Meekness growing, Vector folded his hands in his lap and fidgeted for a minute or two. "She's so cute!" he finally blurted.

Saber pressed his hand to his forehead again as he groaned long and hard. "You do realize that her daddy is a heavily armed and extremely dangerous military general, right?"

"And she really loves me," his best friend went on, pretending not to hear him. "She let me feel how she feels. Do you know what that's like?"

He did, actually. On their wedding night, his new wife had touched him with her antennas and truly opened herself up to him for the first time - far more than the time she'd teased him with a sample. Feeling her love and passion flowing out of her heart and into his own had taken his breath away. Being able to feel someone else's love was an amazing, almost overpowering experience. Thinking about how complete he felt the first time that connection was formed - and how ready he had been to make that connection go even deeper - made him more understanding about how Vector could have lost himself in a special moment...but that didn't change the situation his best friend now faced.

Imeerans had laws - strict ones. You didn't force yourself on the women and you didn't seduce girls too young to make irrevocably life-altering decisions. As far as he knew neither of those laws had ever been broken before...yet he'd heard of the consequences. A wronged adult chose the punishment herself, but when a crime was committed against a minor, the choice was left to her parents. Which meant that when word got out that sixteen-year-old Chloe was pregnant, Vector's fate would be in the hands of General Jayce.

Saber sank back with a sigh. "It's been nice knowing you, old buddy."

"Don't even joke," Vector groused.

"I'm not. When that girl's daddy finds out what you've done, you're either going to face certain death or life behind bars."

He started to say more...then shut his mouth with a hard frown as, all of a sudden, it hit him. "Wait a minute. This has got to be a mistake."

"Whaddya mean?"

"I mean Chloe can't be pregnant - at least not by you. You're like me, remember? A hybrid. Hybrids shoot blanks."

A funny look crossed his best friend's face. "I forgot about that. But Chloe _is_ pregnant - she said she took about a dozen tests make be sure. And I'm not completely stupid," he went on with a scowl. "I stayed away from her the last time she was fertile. She wasn't when it happened, and she wasn't supposed to be for another couple of weeks, but..."

But Imeeran fertility cycles fluctuated; they didn't always start exactly four months after the last one ended. And no one had forgotten what happened to Throttle. Poor mouse ended up stressing out for almost a year, all the way until Thea was born. His family's story had a happy ending, but Saber was afraid that Vector and Chloe's tale wasn't going to turn out as positively.

Unless...

After hesitating a long moment, he sank back a little further. Drumming his fingers on the back of the loveseat, he ventured, "So, you're sure she's having a baby. But..."

He drummed his fingers again. "Are you sure it's yours?"

There was a brief silence as Vector stared at him blankly - and then he lunged with a snarl. Saber was anticipating a reaction like this but still ended up falling off the loveseat as the white rodent tackled him. They hit the floor with a bang that rattled the shelves and almost knocked over the end table. The lamp sitting atop it teetered and fell, though thankfully it didn't break. Grunting, Saber tried to push his overreacting best friend away - and then the white rodent suddenly went sliding off with a yelp. Like somebody had grabbed him by the tail and dragged him.

With a hard scowl, Joy let go of her bewildered brother's tail and, as he started to roll over and sit up, pressed him back down with her foot before sitting on his chest. "Don't manhandle my husband," she ordered, as she pinned his shoulders to the floor.

"I could have done that," Saber said mildly. "But thank you, my dear."

He got up and kissed his wife's cheek, making her beam. A second later she was scowling down at her brother again. "What is your problem? And this had better be good, I've got pots boiling on the stove."

When Vector hesitated, eyeing his sister's already dangerous expression, Saber volunteered the news for him. "He says he got Chloe pregnant."

"He _what_?" Joy shrieked.

Vector's cheeks turned as red as his antennas. "How could you just tell her like that?" he complained. "You're my best bud."

"Wife trumps bud," Saber pointed out casually. "I don't keep secrets from her."

Said wife was busy smacking his best bud with three appendages at once while muttering to herself that it was a shame none of his good points ever rubbed off on somebody. Vector shielded himself with a pitiful whine. Hiding a smile, Saber coaxed his wife to her feet. "Come on now," he soothed, patting her shoulder. "Let the poor boy live. I was just telling him that it's not likely he's the one responsible for this."

For a second Vector's eyes flashed and the sable hybrid thought he was going to tackle him again, but Joy shoved him onto the loveseat with a terse order to "Sit down and shut up." She ran off to the kitchen to check on dinner before hurrying back. Arms folded, she stayed calm and had her husband repeat what Vector had been saying since he burst through the front door.

"You have a point," she said when he finished. Vector shot her a dark look. "But at the same time," she went on, with a warning glance at her brother, "what you're suggesting makes about as much sense as my brother knocking someone up."

"That's right," Vector said firmly. "It's impossible for there to be anyone else. Imeerans aren't biologically wired to cheat. Chloe is mine and mine alone."

Saber knew this, but...he was just trying to examine this situation from all possible angles. Arms still folded, Joy faced her brother, green eyes stern. "Just how many times did you two do it anyway?"

Vector turned red again. Hands clasped in his lap, he hemmed and hawed before finally mumbling in a tiny voice, "Just once."

Scoffing, Joy gave him a weary look. The white half-mouse flashed a wide, innocent grin and didn't say anything else. "Once is enough," Saber murmured.

Or at least it would be, if Vector were a normal male. When he pointed this out, his best friend said, "But I'm a different kind of hybrid. I'm half human, not half rat. Maybe that means I shoot silver bullets instead of blanks?"

His sister let her arms droop as she and her husband exchanged a sad glance. She shook her head. "Saber and I both went in for thorough exams right before we got married, just to satisfy our own curiosity. Our results were the same. We're both one-hundred-percent sterile."

"Oh."

Despite his own predicament, Vector looked at the two of them with sympathy for a minute. He shrugged. "Maybe it's just me, then?"

Saber didn't see how. But just before he was about to say so, he had a major revelation for the second time in the last half hour. "You know something? He could be right."

Joy looked at him questioningly; taking her arm, he gently coaxed her to take a seat next to her anxious brother. "Don't forget," the half-rat said, as his wife elbowed Vector for room, "you two weren't conceived the same way."

The pale-furred half-mouse rolled her eyes. "Like I could forget. He acts like not being conceived the 'fun way' gives him bragging rights."

"It does," Vector insisted defensively.

Joy started to say something else - and then her eyes lit with understanding. "Wait - do you think that might have something to do with it?"

Saber gave a shrug. "It could. There's really only one way to be sure."

For a moment Vector gave him a dull stare. Groaning, he slumped in his seat. "I have to go see a doctor, don't I?"

* * *

><p>It was quickly decided by the three of them that going to Malteria instead of the local hospital was a better idea. Imeeran medical technology was more advanced, plus their doctors were more experienced when it came to issues like this. Getting to Malteria in secret was easy enough; aside from the military version, the general undercity populace now possessed compact wrist communicators of their own. Since traveling via transporter was the fastest, easiest method around, the three of them had acquired their own communicators years ago, so they could travel to Malteria or Earth whenever they wanted.<p>

Saber thought that Vector should go alone to avoid attracting too much attention, but Joy didn't trust her older brother to properly handle something like this by himself. So in the end the sable hybrid ended up tagging along...which Vector was clearly relieved about.

They also decided the less said about what was going on, the better. Just mentioning that an Imeeran had been impregnated by a non-Imeeran would cause a stir, so when the two of them reached the hospital they carefully omitted that part of the story. All they said was that Vector was going to be a father when he shouldn't be able to; they let the nurse they spoke to and the doctor she took them to see make their own assumptions.

The male doctor wasn't someone either of them knew, so as Vector made himself comfortable on the exam table, the two of them explained the odd way the hybrid Martian came into existence. It was easier to explain here than anywhere else, since Imeerans were the only ones they knew that had actually heard of Rigavians and their mission to keep the universe populated.

"It's quite possible that your chromosomes were manipulated in vitro," the doctor noted after they finished talking, curiosity clearly piqued. "In fact, it would be odd if they weren't, considering."

Both rodents gave him a questioning look, but he was already busy prepping equipment and didn't say more. For the next hour or so, the skilled physician (whose combo of pale green hair and apricot skin reminded Saber of a cantaloupe) ran scan after scan. He started with the basic laser scan before moving on to more in depth methods, including a system that pulled up a 3D grid of his best friend that floated, video game-like, above the regular monitors. The doctor's expression as he studied each graph and number was as fascinated as their own. Vector was clearly an intriguing patient.

"My, my," he murmured, as he looked over two different readouts at once. "That would certainly explain it."

Saber perked up in his seat, but Vector had looked only partly awake for a while now and merely mumbled a half-hearted "Hmn?"

The doctor started shutting the scanners down and putting his tools away. "I wanted to make sure this wasn't just a rare instance of a hybrid being born fertile - that happens once in a great while, you know, and sometimes two different species are similar enough that their offspring are able to reproduce with either one purebred gender or the other, or with the same kind of halfbreed. From the look of it your reproduction system was definitely modified. Yours is even hardier than the other Martians we have on file and it looks like you have an exceptionally high fertility rate."

Vector lifted his head and gave him a puzzled look. "But how?"

"Alien technology we're not advanced enough to understand, I suppose," said the doctor. "Your system has also been adjusted so there's no chance of sterility. You have equal possibility of impregnating either an Earth human or a Martian mouse."

Ah, thought Saber, understanding now. A quest for re-population via halfbreeds wouldn't get very far if the first generation of children were born sterile. And Rigavians had been collecting and storing countless samples for an untold number of years, so whenever they decided either Earth or Mars was at risk of their population dying out, they would step in and artificially impregnate numerous surrogate mothers, whose children would grow up to pass on their altered chromosomes to the next generation. Re-population secured.

It was all crystal clear to him now, but Vector still look puzzled. He sat up with a frown. "But Chloe isn't a human or a..."

Saber made a sputtering sound. Catching his slip, Vector went white under his fur and shut his mouth so fast his teeth clacked. He lay back down, still as a corpse, hoping his slip had gone unnoticed. Saber glanced nervously at the doctor; he had his back to them as he put the last of his tools away. For a second his movements halted, his back rigid. His actions were stiff as he finished cleaning up.

When the doctor spoke again, the friendly tone he had been using ever since the exam started was gone. The new tone was frosty - cold and business-like. "Yes, well, she wouldn't need to be. Due to us being engineered from so many different species, our creators did a little reproduction modification of their own. The only way to make us reproduce the way they wanted was to make us omni breeders. We can impregnate or be impregnated by just about anything."

"Oh," Vector said meekly.

He was still lying stiff and motionless, hands clasped on his chest. It looked like he was trying to shrink down into the exam table, like he wanted to make himself invisible. The doctor turned around and studied him, face and eyes grim. Saber had no doubt that he knew Chloe, and knew her well; she'd been a full-blown nurse for a couple of years now. Her perky disposition and casual bedside manner made her popular with patient and physician alike.

"There are firm laws in place," the doctor went on, voice matching his expression. "Because our biology works the way it does, we need to protect our children from choices they're not mature enough to handle making. It's not at all unusual for a young Imeeran to be drawn to someone they might end up mating with someday, even someone years older than they are, but the law clearly states that all Imeerans must reach a certain age before a relationship is consummated."

He paused, the look he gave Vector significant. "Sixteen isn't it."

Vector was silent for a long moment. Saber didn't speak up either; there wasn't much left that he could say. Finally, the white rodent tried his most beguiling smile. "Sorry?"

"Don't tell me," said the doctor. "I'm bound to confidentiality with my patients, but a matter like this overrides my doctoral silence. Chloe is underage, and that makes me legally obligated to notify her parents."

* * *

><p>Here I go, thought Vector, blind and deaf as he moved forward in a daze. Lamb to the slaughter. Cute, cuddly, fuzzy-wuzzy lamb doomed to certain death and dismemberment.<p>

Saber had offered to go with him, but he'd - reluctantly - refused. He needed to be adult about this. It was his mess and he needed to take care of it himself. Besides...he wasn't going to be alone. Chloe was already there, waiting for him. Chloe needed him.

The quickest, easiest form of space travel had its drawbacks. By the time he and Saber left the hospital, the message had already been sent out to Chloe's parents. They already knew she was on Mars; it probably took them less than five minutes to track her down and bring her home.

He and Chloe both knew they'd messed up. They didn't realize until this very day just how much they'd messed up, but...they'd never pretended that they hadn't done something they shouldn't. But he knew Chloe. She'd try to cover for him - was probably trying to that very second. He wasn't going to let her do that.

He had no excuses. He couldn't say it was a case of getting too close while she was fertile and losing control of himself. They'd been extremely careful on that front, being well aware of the risks. Chloe started a cycle a couple of months after they got together and stayed on Malteria until it was over, the two of them staying connected with computer messages and their wrist communicators. Almost four months had gone by since then and they'd planned to do the same thing again soon, not worrying about it in the slightest.

No, their slip had nothing to do with her being fertile, nothing to do with that irresistible scent he'd heard so much about but so far had been spared from. It was all because of how, one night as they were saying goodbye at his doorstep after an evening out together, Chloe commented on how much she loved feeling how he felt about her and wished he could do the same.

Which he of course could, Chloe being aware that mice could connect their minds but not realizing that they could also share emotions that way. And that one brief, simple touch ended up starting something neither of them were able to stop.

Memory of exactly what happened was a little fuzzy. He could remember feeling completely overwhelmed by the powerful, all encompassing love Chloe had for him, but he couldn't remember grabbing her, couldn't remember going inside, couldn't remember how they wound up in his bedroom. And the whole time a voice in his head was saying 'don't do it, don't do it, don't do it, don't do it - oh my god that was incredible _let's do it again!_'

Technically he'd fibbed when he told Joy they only did it once. They did it four times before finally calling it quits, but technically they were only together one night. Technically.

In the morning the gravity of what they'd done finally sank in, and for a moment they'd both panicked...but then they talked it over and eventually decided they needed to face whatever consequences were headed their way calmly, maturely. Together. Everything would be okay as long as they were together.

No one other than Saber and Joy knew they were a couple, and this wasn't a good way to break the news. Chloe wasn't able to go home; Imeerans always had a special scent for a while after making love, especially when it was for the first time. The way they smelled as their bodies synchronized with their new mate's was unmistakable, or so he'd heard.

This scent took a long time to fade away - days - so Chloe had stayed at his place. While they waited they decided it was better to admit what they'd done than to wait for someone - possibly someone who'd get very, very upset - to find out on their own. Yes, Chloe was underage and that meant he could potentially get in trouble with Imeeran law, but they were both hoping that if they made it clear this had happened in the fullness of a relationship and not on some selfish whim, there would be little, if any, punishment. He'd make it clear that he loved Chloe and wanted to take care of her - he'd already decided that as soon as this situation was sorted out, he was asking her to marry him.

Sure, Imeerans didn't marry, but Martians did, and he didn't see why Chloe couldn't be the first Imeeran bride. He wasn't physically bound to her like she was to him and he wanted to prove his love by promising to be with her forever. He'd make it explicitly clear to her parents that he wanted to make that promise...though he hadn't mentioned it to Chloe yet.

They were both comfortable with their decision to come forward and were prepared in every way to face whatever lie ahead. And while they waited for Chloe's system to balance out, Vector grew used to the new facet of his life; being able to sense his new mate's emotions when they were close to each other.

The two of them were only together that one night - and they had no intention of going that far again - so the connection wasn't very strong. But it was there, and coming home after work to a feeling of love and happiness became a bright spot in his day. Until today, when he came home and felt that Chloe was in a panic.

He soon found out why, and it wasn't long before he was in an even bigger panic. This was going to get him in _so_ much trouble. Going too far with someone underage was one thing, but this? Could this get him beheaded? Castrated? He didn't know which was worse. Chloe had no idea what was going to happen to him either and was terrified of when her parents found out. Everything he planned to say and do before now was meaningless, and in his panicked state he'd run to the only person he could think of going to for help.

And now here he was. Each step taking him deeper into the residential block. The carpeted hallways were almost eerily quiet, his boots barely making a sound as he came to stand outside the home of General Jayce and family. For a moment he just stood there, almost trembling with fearful anticipation. He was debating whether or not he should hit the buzzer or just go in...and then he felt it.

Chloe knew he was there. She was just inside, close enough for him to feel how afraid she was. She was completely torn, not knowing whether she wanted him to run as far away as he could or hurry in and stand at her side. Feeling her fear and how it was solely for his sake made his own fear vanish. It was with shoulders back and head held high that he moved forward and stepped inside.

His sudden confidence faltered as soon as he was across the threshold and saw the scene that was waiting for him. He saw General Jayce first, standing just a few feet from the door with his arms crossed and his feet apart, like he was poised and ready. Instead of his favorite red jacket he had on a black one that matched his jeans. Vector had forgotten how tall he was, how broad his shoulders were, how intense of a gaze he had...and why did he have to have those scary red eyes?

Vector averted his gaze for a second as he gathered his courage again - and spied little Dee standing just behind and a little to the left of her mate. And close to her side was Chloe. Deichan was watching her mate, but Chloe's eyes were on him - her own mate. Before either of her parents could react she bolted forward and threw her arms around him.

Vector wordlessly held her to him, while Chloe buried her face in his chest and trembled with emotion. She sniffled thickly as the white rodent cupped the back of her head. "Don't hurt him," she pleaded.

Still silent, Vector looked over at her father, whose stony glare had softened with a hint of surprise. As gently as he could, Vector pried Chloe away from him, pressed a kiss to her forehead, then urged her back to her mother. He then turned and faced General Jayce squarely, hoping that he looked more prepared for his fate than he felt.

Apparently, how he was feeling was exactly what Jayce was interested in. He could have done anything - grabbed Vector's arm or shoulder - but instead he uncrossed his arms and held out his right hand, like he wanted to shake hands. But Vector knew what he really wanted. Jayce didn't have strong empathic abilities, but a direct touch was still enough to expose what someone else was feeling. And while he could have easily reached out and done exactly that, he instead wanted to see if Vector had the guts to expose those feelings himself.

And so he did. With his mind full of Chloe and all their wonderful times together these last few months, he reached out and gripped the General's hand firmly. What felt like minutes but were probably only seconds passed before Jayce let go and crossed his arms again. "Do you know why mating with otherworlders is so risky for us?"

Of course Vector knew, and he knew that Jayce knew that he did, but he understood why he was asking. Jayce wanted to hear him explain it out loud, in his own words. "Because," Vector began quietly, barely able to keep a quaver out of his voice, "it means that someone like me isn't bound to someone like Chloe, like she is to me."

He hoped that that was enough, but those dark red eyes hardened, ordering him to continue. Vector swallowed uncomfortably and forced the words out. "Which means that she's connected to me forever while I could...could fool around if I wanted to."

But he didn't - he'd never do that to her, and said so. And having peered into his heart Jayce had to know he was telling the truth. But there was no sign of the hardness in the general's eyes lightening up. No sign of the tension in his rigid form easing. Vector glanced over and saw that Chloe was in tears. Her petite mother put a comforting arm around her, squeezing her shoulder as Jayce spoke again.

"I know you feel that way now, and that you believe what you're saying. But unlike us, your feelings can change in very little time. Other races fall in and out of love and move on from one partner to the next with little thought or effort."

"I won't," Vector swore, though he had a sinking feeling his word wasn't enough. "I love Chloe and I'm never going to leave her."

"You believe that now," said Jayce, "but time will tell."

He looked away long enough to glance at his daughter, who was watching the two of them anxiously, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. "Under any other circumstances nothing would stop me from appropriately punishing you," the General said, stern tone quieting a notch. "Even if it meant my daughter would never forgive me. But I can see that you got carried away out of love and not because of something else."

The already imposing Imeeran pulled himself straighter. "So it's my decision that the two of you are to end all contact with each other as of immediately. If what you said today is true a little time apart won't change the way you feel. But if it does...it's better for my daughter to learn that now, when your bond is still weak and she has the chance to recover, someday."

Vector mutely nodded his understanding...and acceptance. He knew that was the best offer he could expect to get and wasn't going to push it. "How long do you want us to wait?" he asked in a small voice.

"That's for me to decide."

The white rodent nodded again. There was nothing left for him to say. Or do...except leave.

He took one last look at Chloe, who watched him go with anguish in her teary eyes. But she didn't cry or beg, knowing just as well as he did that he was getting off easy. Knowing this didn't stop the pain he felt forming in her heart. But the connection between them, created in only one night, was weak and distant. Her emotions faded out of his reach when he was just a few short steps outside the front door. That automatic door slipped shut behind him, like a knife severing their connection with cool finality.

Even though that connection was weak, even though it had only been in place a short time, it was still a part of him. The thought of not feeling the one he loved for an unknown amount of time still left him rattled and shaken. How long would they have to wait? Months? Years?

If it was just the two of them it would have been one thing, but it wasn't. There was a third person involved in this, a person Chloe was going to have to take care of on her own, without him. The thought of losing contact with Chloe was bad enough, but it was the thought that he was going to miss out on every stage of their baby's growth that had him teleporting straight home, slumping at his computer desk and crying silent tears.

Alone and miserable, Vector opened one of the desk drawers and sifted through the pile of small, colored paper he found there. Even after he knew who she was and the two of them were growing closer and closer, Chloe never quite stopped hiding notes where she knew he'd find them. Notes full of her love and admiration for him. Throat painfully tight, he lifted one from the pile and brought it to his nose, inhaling the subtle fragrance hidden on the paper.

He'd never seen for himself, but judging how more than one of her notes smelled like sugar and other sweet things, he'd come to strongly suspect that she penned a lot of them during slow moments at the cookie shop. He could picture her now, bent over a table covered in decorative plates, expressing her feelings for him between stacks of cookies and fudge squares.

A chiming noise made him jerk his head up. A message box was open on his computer screen, the icon in the corner unmistakably blank and the text in the box without a screen name. **Are you there?**

Vector almost fell out of his seat as he scrambled for the keyboard. **im here,** he typed frantically. **im right here.**

**I can't stay, they'll figure out what I'm doing. I just wanted to tell you that I love you more than anything. Please wait for me.**

**ill wait forever if i have to. in the meantime im going to learn how to be the very best father i can be, so i can take care of you and our baby as soon as were together again.**

There was a brief pause, and even though he couldn't feel her, Vector clearly saw his mate smiling through her tears. **Thank you.**

She logged off a second later. With a shaky breath, Vector sank back in his seat and dried his eyes. He'd get through this. First thing tomorrow he was going to go shopping for a ring - secretly, of course. And then he'd start reading books on baby care. He had a lot to learn and an uncertain amount of time in which to learn it. If anything it'd keep his mind occupied.

It wasn't going to be easy. But he'd get through this. He didn't find the woman of his dreams just to lose her.


	3. Part 3: Learning

**Part 3: Learning**

* * *

><p>Holding the whimsical picture book up so it could be easily seen, Tamerin turned a page. "What about this one?" she asked.<p>

"Fishies," Horex said promptly. "Daddy likes ta catch 'em."

Smiling, the white-skinned Imeeran slowly turned to the next page. Her eyes were on her daughter, who was leaning against her knee and watching intently, her large eyes curious. She looked content - and her little mouth looked content to stay shut. "How about these?"

"Trees, houses, sun," Horex rattled out. "An' a puppy - like me!"

He yipped happily. Thea smiled and placed her cheek on her mother's hip. "A super-smart puppy at that," Tamerin noted, making four-year-old Horex beam. "Now, how about we see if Thea can figure out the rest by herself?"

Taking the hint, Horex went quiet and watched as the picture book was angled so Thea could see it better. Her bright blue eyes blinked as they scanned each page her mother flipped to, but her short muzzle still didn't open. Tamerin felt a little disappointed as she gave up and closed the book, but at the same time she knew better than to be concerned.

She could tell by the comprehension she sensed from her daughter that Thea understood everything she had seen and heard this morning. They'd taken her in for frequent exams ever since she was born in case something unexpected ever arose, and her mental development had been evaluated as well. According to the results, she was smart - maybe even a little smarter than most three-year-olds. She had no trouble learning. She was just quiet.

Not that she didn't talk. She simply liked to save her words for when she really felt like using them.

As long as she was strong and healthy, Tamerin was happy, and she smoothed her hand over her daughter's downy head before planting a kiss between her small round ears. A second later the front door buzzed. "Company," Horex announced.

Tamerin gave his plump belly a poke, making him giggle and squirm away. She straightened Thea's pink dress and set her on the rug next to a mound of toys before getting up and answering the door. Waiting outside was a very familiar white rodent - one she hadn't seen a whole lot of recently. Not since word got around that he was going to be a daddy. "Well, hey, Vector. You need something?"

The ordinarily rambunctious half-mouse turned bashful as he answered, dropping his dark eyes and scuffing his heel against the ground. "Practice," he mumbled.

Her smile knowing, Tamerin took a step back and swept a hand toward the living room. "Come on in. Grab a kid."

Vector followed her over to the rug in front of the sofa, where he promptly sprawled out on his belly and started building a tower out of blocks with Horex. Thea was sitting quietly with the picture book open on her small lap. She turned each heavy-duty page carefully, pinching them between her stubby black claws.

"Hey," Vector said suddenly, "know what this is?"

He was holding up a crude but recognizable motorcycle shape slapped together with building blocks. Thea looked away with disinterest and picked up her favorite doll; Horex let out a laugh. "Vroom-vroom!" he exclaimed, making his best bike impression. "When I get big I wanna big bike, just like my daddy."

"All right! Hey - high five."

Tamerin sat down on the rug again and watched in amusement as the two started chattering about guy stuff. "I think those two have an understanding," she observed.

Thea rolled onto her back with a giggle. "Daddy!"

"Daddy?" Eyes loving, Tamerin stretched out on her side and propped her head on her palm as she looked at her daughter's smiling face. "What about Daddy?"

Her rolly-polly daughter giggled again. "Daddy's cute!"

"Sure can't argue that."

Vector suddenly crawled over and peered down at the plump three-year-old. "What about me?" he asked with a grin. "I'm the cutest one, right?"

Thea wrinkled her little black nose. "No," she replied frankly. "You da one dat talks too much."

Both her mother and Horex burst out laughing, while Vector went back to his blocks with a pout. "That's my girl - hey, high five."

She gave her daughter's furry, paw-like hand a light pat, then reclined on the floor beside her quietly for a while, but Thea had apparently said enough for now and played with her doll silently. The boys, on the other hand, talked nonstop. Tamerin watched them with a smirk, noting to herself that Vector seemed to have a natural feel for interacting with an older child. It was tempting to tease him about how he and a four-year-old seemed to have the same level of enthusiasm, but instead she said, "When you're ready to move on to something younger, you can always help out your sister at the orphanage."

Unexpectedly, Vector's expression turned serious as he looked up. It was an expression Tamerin wouldn't have thought he would ever wear and was still getting used to seeing, even though he'd been wearing that same look frequently for three years now. Ever since Astrid's death.

"As soon as I'm ready for that, I'll let her know."

The serious moment passed and he and Horex went back to playing. While Thea cradled her doll, Tamerin was starting to think about lunch - and then she felt her mate come home.

He left earlier without saying where he was going, but she didn't think anything of it. She had to wonder now why he suddenly decided to teleport straight into their bedroom, and why he had gone to Malteria in the first place - and why it felt like he was in pain.

"Keep an eye on them, okay?" she told Thea, before hopping up and hurrying to the bedroom. She found Throttle curled up on their bed, eyes closed and face scrunched up. He groaned quietly as she knelt on the mattress and put a hand on his shoulder.

"What happened?" Tamerin asked, her heart flooding with concern.

"Didn't want to tell you before," her mate mumbled, voice muffled against the blanket. "Not until we were sure it would work."

He shifted with another groan, while the white-skinned Imeeran frowned in puzzlement. "Tell me what?" she asked.

But even as she spoke, in her heart she already knew what this was about. Her eyes were automatically drawn to the area just below his belt. "What did you do to yourself this time?"

With a quiet whimper, Throttle gingerly turned until he was lying on his back. His arms limp at his sides, he stretched his legs out slowly. Tamerin started taking off his boots. "Dee and I have been researching permanent contraceptive methods from other planets," he explained dully. "We finally found one that doesn't just keep sperm from leaving the body, but stops it from being produced altogether. Almost like being neutered without actually cutting anything off."

He shifted his hips with a wince. "Almost feels like something was anyway."

Tamerin hesitated, her eyes searching his as her heart filled with a question. Throttle gave her permission in the same silent way, though his body tensed as his tired eyes closed. She was as gentle as she knew how to be as she briefly felt the area that had been operated on. The most important part seemed fine and normal, but as for the other, directly affected parts...

"Feels kind of...small," she noted.

Throttle snorted quietly. "Looks worse. Like shriveled grapes."

Wrinkling his nose, he wiggled around for a second before settling down again. "It's just shock. They should be back to normal in about a week. But right now it feels like they're trying to crawl up behind my pelvic bone."

Tamerin's face lined with sympathy. She leaned over to smooth his hair back. "Did you really have to go that far?" she asked quietly. "We've been doing pretty well these last three years."

After Thea was born, they started following her mother and Rimfire's example and behaved themselves for the entire month she was scheduled to be fertile. As a result, they were as intimate as ever these days, enjoying each other frequently for three months and having all the fun they could without engaging in actual intercourse for the fourth month. It was an arrangement Tamerin was content with...even if she did miss making love when she was fertile.

"I know," said Throttle, his quiet tone matching hers. His eyes opened and he looked at her. "But even though things turned out great, and I couldn't love Thea more if I tried...I don't want to take the chance that we might not get a second miracle."

Through their bond, she could feel where all of his concern lie. With her. He knew as well as she did that if she had gotten pregnant a second time she could have very well ended up in just as much pain as her mother had. Or worse, she might have been forced to endure the pain of losing her child. That wasn't something either of them ever wanted to face.

Smiling softly now, she leaned closer and kissed his forehead as she allowed the gratitude and love she was feeling to flow through her and into him. She rested her head on his shoulder and let memories play inside her mind, thinking about all the ways he had been there for her all these years. All the ways he had sacrificed and given of himself. She felt so lucky that she was able to call him hers.

And then there came a thundering crash from the living room, forcing her up with a reluctant sigh. When she went back to the kids, she found Horex sitting right where she'd left him, pointing across the room with eyes wide and a look that clearly said 'I didn't do it!' on his face. Over by the far wall, the shelf that used to be tacked there was now on the floor, its contents scattered around Vector's feet. The white half-mouse was sheepishly holding Thea, who blinked innocently despite having obviously pushed over the toy block that now rested against the wall, giving her enough height to reach the low shelf.

Folding her arms, Tamerin breathed another sigh and came to stand in front of the snowy pair. "And now," she said, "we're going to have some practice in preventing accidents that could have easily been avoided if you were just paying attention."


	4. Part 4: News

So sorry for the delay on this chapter, I had some personal problems I needed to sort out. Thank you for your patience and enjoy.

* * *

><strong>Part 4: News<strong>

* * *

>"Feeling any better, hot shot?"<p>Throttle rolled onto his side and looked at his mate, who was facing him in the same fashion, head propped on her palm. Her pale skin had a soft glow in the hazy morning light filtering through the windows up above the headboard. From outside came the thrum of heavy rainfall, with an occasional rumble of thunder in the distance.<p>

Her question was mostly a rhetorical one, since she could plainly feel how he was feeling this morning, so he flashed her a wry smile. "Ready when you are, Tam."

It'd been almost two weeks since his operation, but despite feeling completely recovered already, his cautious mate didn't feel right about taking him for a 'test drive' just yet. "I don't have any plans for today," he went on casually. "You?"

She gave a shrug, the blanket slipping an inch or so off her bare shoulder. Still smiling, Throttle turned his attention toward the space between their pillows. "How 'bout you?" he asked. "You ready to go back to your own bed?"

Thea, who was snuggled between the two pillows with the blanket pulled up to her chin, let out a shudder as another thunderclap sounded, closer and louder than the ones they'd been listening to for the last few minutes. She hid her round face behind the stuffed mouse doll she was clutching. "Not yet," she mumbled, voice tiny. "Muffy's still scared of the storm."

Throttle felt his heart melt in a wave of fatherly love. "That's okay, there wasn't anything I wanted to do other than keep Muffy from feeling scared anyway."

Clearly relieved, his fuzzy daughter scooted closer, burrowing against him until she was tucked, ball-like, under his chin. She shuddered again as another thunderclap sounded, then went still - except for a tiny set of coughs that briefly shook her small form.

Tamerin sat up with a frown. "She keeps doing that."

"It's all this dampness," said Throttle, as his mate got up and hunted for a tissue. The last few days had been unusually stormy for this time of year and some of his joints were already starting to complain. "I'm telling you, if this planet is gearing up to start a second wet season, we're moving to Arizona."

Tamerin didn't respond as she returned to the bed and blotted their daughter's little black nose, which always grew damp when she coughed like that. Thea waited patiently until it was dry before hiding her face in the hollow of her father's throat. Outside, the wind blew louder and the storm kicked its intensity up a notch, and the room grew dimmer as the already weak light was blocked out by heavy clouds. Throttle was glad he didn't need to go into work today, because at this point in time he had no urge to leave bed.

It didn't feel like Tam was interested in going anywhere either, and she settled next to him and Thea again, her strong hand gently stroking their daughter's fuzzy head between her round ears. Throttle could tell by how distant her mind felt that her thoughts had wandered far away from what they were talking about just a few minutes ago. These days tracing her threads of feeling and figuring out what she was thinking was almost second nature, but sometimes those threads were too random for him to really piece together. Right now it felt like her mind was vaguely on the two of them, and family in general. Though her eyes were unfocused, Throttle lifted his eyebrows, projecting his curiosity to her.

Tamerin focused on him with a shrug. "Just thinking about how special our little girl is," she murmured. "And how there'll never be anyone quite like her again."

Not even someone with similar parentage, Throttle finished to himself. He was quiet for a moment, his own thoughts wandering, then asked, "Have you talked to Vector recently?"

"A few days ago," said his mate, her finger absently tracing the shape of Thea's ear. "Jayce made me confiscate his wrist communicator."

Throttle went quiet again as he thought back on the last few months. To say that learning someone he'd watched grow up from babyhood was having a baby himself had come as a shock would be a criminal understatement. They'd all been floored, but no one more so than Vector's parents. Vector himself had been surprisingly quiet about the whole thing, usually only speaking up when he had a question about child-rearing and parenthood.

The tan mouse thought he was being uncharacteristically mature about the situation, so as unexpected as it was, Throttle felt that it would all turn out all right in the end. He wasn't sure if a certain someone agreed, though. "Do you think he overreacted at all?" Throttle wondered, even as he imagined he would probably react far worse if he were ever in a similar situation.

Tamerin's mouth quirked. "On the contrary, I think that, considering how his little girl is going to go down in history as the first underage female impregnated since the laws were instated, that brother of mine showed remarkable restraint."

"You'd think with how tempting females are when they're fertile, things like this would happen more often. Mistakes happen, even between people who love each other and mean well."

"True," said his mate, "and plenty of mistakes happened back when we were learning the hard way how our biology works. It was only after we figured ourselves out that the laws were put in place. We've been extremely fortunate since then."

And interaction with other planets and races outside of scouting for resources had only become more common within the last century, Throttle reminded himself, especially after the war ended. More mistakes were bound to happen now that more members of the populace were interacting with residents of other worlds - particularly young ones who were still getting used to their blossoming adult urges.

He might have slipped up along the way, but Throttle felt that Chloe could do a whole lot worse than a rodent who was spending every spare moment trying to become the very best mate and father he possibly could. It actually didn't leave any of them with much to say to Vector; there wasn't anything they could berate him over that he wasn't already remorseful for, nothing they could advise him to do that he wasn't already doing.

So instead he smirked and said, "Last time I talked to Vinnie he was whining about being a grandfather so young."

"Funny, the last time I talked to my mother she mentioned being a great-grandmother."

"Does she mind?"

"Not at all. Where we come from, having a few 'greats' tacked on to you is normal."

Throttle tried to imagine what that was like, but looking at his little girl, still snuggled up against him as the storm thundered on, the thought of their family growing seemed so far away. Sure, Michio was old enough, but he'd always been less interested in girls and more into books and Bunsen burners.

Tamerin's eyes went distant again, her fingers continuing to stroke the back of Thea's head. "Do you think things will work out for them?" she wondered quietly.

"Honestly? I do. I really do."

* * *

><p>Vector was parked at his desk, surrounded by the stacks of baby care books and child rearing magazines scattered around his computer. With a bottle of root beer in one hand, he absently sipped while he flipped through the pregnancy book he had propped open in the other. It was a detailed book with full-color photos of each stage of a baby's growth, from conception to birth. Books like this were how he was keeping track of how big their baby was right now, though he had to adjust for the four month difference between mice and Imeeran pregnancies.<p>

He'd been a little weirded out by all the graphic info at first, but now he was just fascinated. It was amazing all the things a baby could do in just the first few months of life. Suck their thumb, make a fist, respond to sounds - like their mother's voice.

Their baby was three months old now and developing rapidly, as Imeeran babies did at this stage. It'd been well established by now that Imeeran genes were dominant, so he didn't hold on to much hope that their little one would turn out anything like the baby mice that filled the pages of all the books he was studying. He had just closed the one he'd been reading and was about to reach for another when a chiming sound caught his attention.

He nearly dropped both book and root beer as he scrambled for the keyboard. **Hey**, the simple message onscreen read.

**hey yourself**, he typed back rapidly. **how are you two doing?**

Chloe tried to send him a message at least once a week, though sometimes she only had time to type something as brief as 'I love you.' Most of the time when she had a chance to sit down and talk for a few minutes, she'd just come back from a checkup. She always kept him up to date on how she and their baby were doing - and she still kept all her information securely blocked, since she wanted to keep what she was doing hidden from her parents. Seeing that blank message box pop up never failed to make his heart race.

**We're great**, Chloe told him. **We're both healthy and everything is going just how it's supposed to.**

There was a pause, and then: **I learned something special today, too.**

**really?** Vector asked eagerly. **what?**

**We're having a boy.**

Vector felt his heart take off like a bike making a wild jump, even as tears clouded his eyes. He quickly blinked them clear as he typed rapidly again. **thats awesome. i cant wait to meet him. i love you both so much.**

**I know, me too. Talk to you soon.**

She logged off, and Vector sank back in his seat and took a moment to compose himself. He was still wiping his eyes when somebody buzzed the front door. "Coming," he called, as he hopped up and hurried to answer it.

When the front door swished open he found his mother standing there. His eyes immediately dropped to his boots as his ears warmed. "Hi," he mumbled.

"Hello," Mom said evenly. It wasn't until she edged her way past him and went inside did he realize she had a box in her arms. Feeling awkward and sheepish, he trotted after her. His mother moved down the hall and into the rec room, where she set the box down and popped the lid off. "Just some of your old things I thought you might need," she said.

Vector watched mutely as she sorted through a few of the items inside. He instantly recognized some of it, was instantly taken back to bygone days of playing with toys, building forts, trying to keep Joy from crashing his sleepovers. But there were a few things he didn't recognize. He would have been too young to remember when he'd used them.

"You really kept all this stuff?" he asked in a small voice.

Mom smiled as she held up a tiny set of blue sleepers. "It's what moms do. I hung on to all the things I just couldn't part with."

Her smile softened as she carefully folded the sleepers and put them back. "I planned to hang on to them forever, but I think you need them more than I do."

Vector swallowed back the lump in his throat. "Thanks."

It used to be there wasn't anybody on Mars he felt more comfortable with than his mom. But this was the most they'd spoken since his parents found out what happened. After the initial, expected reaction - you did _what?!_ - he'd barely seen or talked to either of them. Which was partly because they weren't sure how to approach him, and partly because he was afraid of what would happen when they did.

Now, with he and his mother finally alone in the same room together, he found himself asking timidly, "Are you disappointed in me?"

Mom stood up and turned around to face him slowly, her eyes doing a scan of the rec room. His new hobby was visible here too; a clutter of books and magazines, a handful of baby toys, a small pile of clothes and blankets.

The soft smile never left his mother's face as her eyes focused on him. "I'd be lying if I said this didn't come as a shock, but...a lot of guys in your position would have run by now. But you're still here, and working so hard to learn how to be a good father. I could never be disappointed in you for that."

Vector tried to nod casually...but instead the lump came back with a vengeance and his eyes clouded with fresh tears. He tried to look away and sniffle discreetly, but just like a mom, there was no hiding from her. Before he knew it she had stepped forward and put her arms around him.

And just like that, all the tension and anxiety of the last few months melted away. It was like the last ten years of his life vanished and he was a little boy again, warm and safe in his mother's arms, the one place that could make everything better. In a flash of memory he saw himself at bedtime, or heading off to school, squirming away when Mom tried to hug him and complaining that he was too big for that. He wondered now what the heck his problem had been.

It'd been so long he couldn't remember the last time he'd actually held still long enough for her to really hold him. And so he stayed still and clung to her for ages, shamelessly enjoying how she stroked his hair and petted his ears, just like he'd never grown up. And when he finally let go and she wiped her eyes with a quiet thank you, he didn't wonder why.

She tried to be discreet about it, but Vector saw how her eyes darted around the room again, saw the memories playing behind them, the longing they held. It brought an ache to his heart - and he found himself blurting out what he'd been hiding for three months. Because if not his own mother, who could he trust?

"I haven't been as good as you think," he faltered.

Mom stopped looking around and focused on him again, expression blank. "What do you mean?"

"Chloe sends me messages. She keeps me posted how our baby is doing."

He expected his mother to respond - to get mad and start yelling - but instead she just nodded. "If it was just us two it'd be different," Vector stammered on, "but it isn't. I-I need to know our baby is okay."

"Is he?" Mom wondered.

"He's great - and he's really a he. I mean, we're having a boy."

He stopped stammering and went quiet, face heating. And Mom flashed a dazzling smile and hugged him tight again. "That's wonderful. I'm so happy for you."

"Really? You're not mad?"

"Of course not. And I promise I won't tell anyone. Not even your dad."

When he saw the light in her eyes as she let go he knew she meant it. This was something special shared between just the two of them. After keeping his distance for so long it felt funny to suddenly be so close to his mother again, yet at the same time it made him so happy his eyes moistened again. Smiling, Mom smoothed his hair back and kissed his forehead.

"You're always my favorite little boy, you know that?"

"I'm your only little boy," he reminded her wryly.

"That's besides the point. Believe me, one day soon you're going to understand exactly how I feel."

And just like she always seemed to be - just like a mom - Vector knew she was right.


	5. Part 5: Together

A short offering this time, hope you all like it!

* * *

><p><strong>Part 5: Together<strong>

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><p>Saber couldn't believe how fast time was flying. It'd already been ten months since his best bud dropped a bombshell on an otherwise placid afternoon. Ten months since his best bud started filling all his spare time with anything and everything baby related. It was a span of time both short and long, depending on how you looked at it. And either way you looked at it, Saber was amazed at how much his best bud had grown up since that life-changing day.<p>

Even once he was a legal adult and living on his own - especially once he was a legal adult and living on his own - Vector continued to give off that vibe of someone who had never quite finished growing up and was proud of it. He loved being immature whenever possible (even when some would argue it was inappropriate) and indulged in things other buff mice his age would have long since given up as too childish.

He still did those things, just not as much as he used to, and not to the same extent. His life was now filled with studying how to be a good father. Saber even heard him mumbling to himself from time to time about certain habits he needed to give up. He wanted to set a good example.

There was still plenty of time for fun, though, which was why they'd come here to Slingshot's after work. After dinner they headed into the arcade, where they mostly played competitively, while Joy either watched or butted in whenever she felt like it, shoving one (or both) of them aside and taking over. Some things never changed.

For the most part Vector seemed like his usual light-hearted, wise-cracking self, but for months now, no matter what he was doing, there was always something behind his eyes. A sense of distraction, a hint of sadness. More than once Saber caught him looking at either his or Joy's wedding rings, only to pretend to be looking at something else when he realized Saber had noticed.

Joy noticed too, and she flashed her older brother a sad, knowing smile. "You've done really great, you know that?"

Vector merely shrugged, his eyes going distant. Saber could tell that the interest in games had faded, so they headed back into the main part of the bar and grill and ordered one last round of their favorite drinks before heading home. When it came time to say goodnight, Saber felt twinges of guilt over his best friend going home alone, while he got to cozy up with his wife. He could only hope Vector's punishment came to an end soon.

* * *

><p>It felt a lot like that night, so many months ago, when he'd drooped at the thought of going home alone while everyone he knew was paired off. But go home alone he did, where he turned on the lights and took a good long look at everything. A lot had changed in the last ten months. He'd baby-proofed the entire place, converted a spare room into a nursery, and completely overhauled his bedroom. It was actually clean in there now, the hodgepodge furniture he'd put in at random swapped out with matching pieces. He'd repainted too, giving the room a soft, red-brown color that was both inviting and cozy. It was a room built for two.<p>

As he looked around at the rest of the rooms, Vector felt a cold ache swell in his chest. It was an ache that faded at times but was never completely gone, and grew worse at times like these, when he really took a good look at himself and his situation. He was living alone in a place designed for a family. And there was a chance that would never change.

With his mind full of things that could possibly never happen and that ache still lingering in his chest, Vector shut the lights back off and went to bed. He wasn't scheduled to head into work until later in the afternoon, so when he woke up the next morning he lazed around the house for a while. He sat down at his computer, but there weren't any messages waiting for him today.

And then, just as he was thinking about getting up to grab a root beer, he felt it. It was so faint and so slight it didn't register to him as anything other than his own feeling of hope and excitement that he always felt when he checked for updates from Chloe. So it wasn't until he'd gotten up and was leaving the room did it dawn on him that the feeling wasn't going away. It continued to brush against the very edge of his senses, fainter than a whisper and softer than a breeze.

As if in response to him noticing it, the feeling of excitement spiked - barely perceptible but definitely there. And Vector could only imagine one reason why that would be.

With his heart popping in his chest in disbelief, the white rodent nearly tripped himself as he bolted forward. Guided completely by instinct and that faint touch of feeling, he found himself in the rec room.

A figure with cotton candy pink skin and snowy white hair was waiting by the sofa. She stood with a teary smile on her face and her slim hands cupping her large belly. If it weren't for that Vector would have all out tackled her when he lunged for her, but instead he pulled back at the last second and gathered her gently in his arms, holding her as close and tight as he could as he showered kisses all over her sweet face.

Maybe it was how happy she was to see him, or maybe it was how far along she was in her pregnancy, but there was a fresh brightness in her eyes and a glow in her cheeks. She'd never looked more beautiful, and he told her so as he buried his face in her downy hair.

Chloe let out a quiet laugh as she stroked his cheek. "I was so worried our bond would have faded by now," she said, "but as soon as I transported over here I felt it. It may be faint but it's so wonderful to feel it again."

And Vector hoped that it wouldn't be long before that bond started strengthening again - and more than just physically. But he didn't know if their separation was officially over or if this was just a short visit. He pulled back a little and took her hands, his eyes searching hers. "Are you staying?" he asked, both eager and afraid to hear the answer.

"According to my father, that's up to you now. You have to understand he did this to protect me. He wanted to make sure you didn't end up getting tired of me or interested in someone else. And if you did he wants me to find that out before the baby is born."

Vector gave a nod. "I do understand. And about that..."

He gave her hands a squeeze before letting go and darting out of the room. Chloe didn't say anything or try to follow him, but he felt a distinct sense of separation anxiety, almost like she was silently crying out 'don't go yet!'

He was only in his room for a second before running back to her. Face warming with both excitement and a touch of embarrassment, he fumbled with the small velvet box in his hands for a moment. When he had it open he held it out to her so she could see its contents. "I know Imeerans don't get married, but so I can prove to you and everyone else how serious I am, I want you to wear this and let me promise in front of everybody to love and be with you forever."

Chloe went quiet as she studied the engagement ring - a gold band with an aqua stone - before a grin burst across her face and fresh tears dampened her eyes. "How soon can we do that?"

"As soon as you're ready to."

Judging by how eagerly she reached for her ring, she would exchange vows tomorrow if she could. Chuckling, Vector gently grabbed her hand before her fingers closed around the band and slid it onto her ring finger for her. He then drew her into his arms again and pressed a kiss to her forehead before resting his cheek on the top of her head. One hand absently went to her round belly; he felt a flutter of movement there, making his heart skip a beat.

"How's...?"

"He's fine," Chloe said softly. "He's just fine. Perfectly healthy and ready to be born."

Barely aware he was doing it, Vector rubbed the tips of his fingers against his future wife's middle as he tried to imagine what was going on in there. He knew how advanced Imeeran medical scans were and just had to ask. "Any idea what he looks like?"

Chloe gave a casual shrug. "Only a little. It didn't seem fair for me to take a look at him when you couldn't."

Touched, Vector stroked her hair as she went on. "But I did learn one thing. He has fur."

There was no denying this revelation made his heart speed up in excitement. He knew this could mean just about anything, but the thought of cuddling his downy son when he was born definitely gave him a thrill. Which made it take a couple of seconds for it to sink in that if their baby was furry before birth then he wasn't going to come out looking like a mouse.

He admittedly felt a little disappointed - but only for a second. There were more important things to worry about.

"So," Vector said casually, as he lifted his head and gazed in her eyes. "Will you be staying here for now, or...?"

Chloe let out a laugh. "I'll be staying here forever, thank you."

"And your parents won't mind?"

"Not anymore. I'm already pregnant, what other trouble could I get into?"

Grinning, Vector put her arm around her and squeezed her shoulder as he started for the door. "Come on, let me show you around. I've got the place all fixed up for you two."

And just like that, in one afternoon it felt like all the pieces had fallen seamlessly into place. He knew that the future would be full of challenges for them both - but he was eager to face them now because he knew that neither one of them would be facing them alone.


	6. Part 6: Time

Six parts down, only one more to go...

* * *

><p><strong>Part 6: Time<strong>

* * *

><p>Vector didn't think life could get any better. Everything had come together two months ago, starting with his and Chloe's wedding. Neither of them were picky and neither of them wanted anything big, so it'd only taken them about a week to choose their outfits and pick a location for the ceremony, and of course they had the reception at Slingshot's. Vector knew the story of how his parents had skipped a traditional ceremony and instead went, plain-clothes, to a courthouse in Chicago and signed some papers. When he told them about his and Chloe's plans his mother and future bride ended up bonding while shopping for a wedding gown, while his dad got all misty when he took his only son out to buy his own attire - which he adamantly denied when Vector teased him about it later.<p>

The whole thing stayed small, with only their immediate family and closest friends on the guest list. Since both he and Chloe liked Earth customs, their wedding ended up being something more like what his mother might have done if she'd had an actual ceremony instead of something traditionally seen on Mars. Though they didn't practice marriage themselves, Imeerans were familiar with many different forms of wedding ceremonies from various planets, so Chloe didn't have very many questions before the big day. And when it arrived, while there was still a hint of tension in the air between him and certain members of Chloe's family, most of the negative feelings had been smoothed over. His love and devotion to Chloe wasn't in doubt anymore.

They'd settled happily into their new life together since then, and now they were anxiously waiting for their baby to arrive. In their ten months apart Chloe had accumulated her own collection of things for their pending bundle of joy, and the two of them kept busy incorporating them into his own collection of baby supplies. They needed to find a place for Chloe's personal things, too, but somehow his average-sized home made room for everything.

It was all in place now - ready and waiting for their son to join them. Vector already knew the little guy was extra special; he'd broken the tradition set by Imeerans and half-Imeerans before him and never stopped kicking, not even when he was supposed to be in his still phase. He'd gotten a lot less energetic recently, though, thanks to his living space being so tight now.

As Chloe's due date got closer and closer, Vector felt like he was literally counting the seconds. His mom (being the great mom that she was) had given him time off work, so he could not only be with their baby once he was born but also keep an eye on Chloe until then. She didn't have much energy right now and wasn't in the mood to leave home, instead shuffling between their bedroom, the kitchen, or the rec room.

When Chloe's due date arrived, Vector had everything planned and ready. Her bag was packed and by the front door, their ride was ready and waiting at all times, and he'd taken to sleeping in his clothes, just in case her water broke during the night. There'd be no panicked surprises here. On the day she was due he never took her eyes off her, waiting for the impending, "It's time!" But the day came and went and nothing happened.

Nothing happened the next day either, or the day after that. Chloe had already been cranky for the last week or so, and when their son didn't arrive when he was scheduled to, and they decided to go to the hospital on the second day she was overdue and a nurse told them all they could do was wait, she got downright unhappy. Vector couldn't blame her; she'd been pregnant for over a year now and that was enough for anybody.

She looked like she was in pain, too, wincing and grimacing whenever she had to get up, and wincing some more whenever she sat down. Their emotional bond had started strengthening again as soon as they were back together, but their physical bond was still stagnant (there'd be plenty of time to change that later) so all he could really sense from her lately was the feeling of 'I want to have this kid _now_.'

"Wanna cookie?" he asked one afternoon, almost five days after her due date. The two of them were lounging on the rec room sofa munching snacks...or he was, at least. Chloe was slumped against the arm looking sullen.

She wrinkled her nose at the chocolate-and-vanilla swirl cookie he was waggling at her. "No."

"You sure? It's from that yummy place you like to work at."

"Then I definitely don't want it."

"Why not?" Vector asked seriously.

Scowling, Chloe folded her arms and slumped further into the sofa. "I just don't want sweets," she groused.

Vector gave up with a shrug and finished off the rest of the cookies himself. He'd come to accept that what Chloe did and didn't want changed from day to day - sometimes hour to hour. But even with the mood swings and flip-flopping tastes, Vector loved being with her. They'd only had a short time together before they were split apart and he still had a lot to learn about what made her who she was.

He'd learned in the last two months that she liked to read fiction from other planets more than anything published locally, with fantasy being her favorite genre. And she preferred listening to music while sitting alone in the park with her headphones on because she was one of the only Imeerans alive who wasn't really into technopop or an electronic sound. Most Imeerans liked birds and they were a popular pet since Malteria didn't have any, but Chloe got nervous around them. Something about getting creeped out by things that could attack from above.

And she actually wasn't all that crazy about bikes - a fact that had hugely disappointed him when he first found out, until he realized she didn't mind at all when he rode off to mess around with his buds and left her behind, and didn't complain when he didn't come back for hours. And she consented to going for rides when it was just the two of them, closing her eyes and holding him tight and not saying a word. It was these rides he ended up liking best.

He knew better than to suggest anything remotely resembling a ride these days, even if he did miss tearing around like the wind with her. Come to think of it, he hadn't gone for a ride or gone anywhere at all since they came back from their uneventful trip to the hospital the other day, and the lack of excitement was starting to get to him. So, even though he knew she'd rather be left alone right now, he found himself scooting closer to his new wife and putting his arms around her playfully. "You sure you don't wanna blow this joint for a few hours?" he asked, rocking her coaxingly.

"No," Chloe muttered grumpily. "Because that'll be just when my water breaks."

"Sounds like a good idea to go out to me."

The petite Imeeran gave him a sour look...then paused to consider this. "All right," she decided, "I'm pretty sick of being cooped up here anyway."

"Great," said Vector eagerly, "and don't worry, we'll travel the lazy way."

The transport operator didn't fail to mention this when he grabbed his wrist communicator and let him know he wanted a same-planet transport. "Are all forms of travel on Mars down right now?"

"No, but I've got an overly pregnant wife who needs a smooth ride."

Less than a minute later the two of them were standing outside the door to Saber and Joy's apartment. Saber had already finished his workload for the week, and Joy was busy in the kitchen - baking sweets from the smell of it. "Hey, Chloe," his little sister greeted as the two of them came in, "feel like a fudge square?"

"Yes, please," Chloe said eagerly.

Vector merely smirked, kissed her cheek, then went off with Saber to enjoy a couple of hours in the game room. He kept tabs on Chloe through their bond, noting that her mood stayed fairly even throughout the fun afternoon, with Joy keeping her distracted and entertained. Around sunset she commented that she needed to pick up a few things for dinner and invited Chloe to go on a quick shopping trip with her; Chloe declined and wandered into the game room as soon as she was gone.

"Need anything, Chlo-bug?" asked Vector.

"Labor," she answered promptly.

Chuckling, Saber got up and helped her take a seat on the sofa. "I'm going to go grab some more snacks," he said, as he started for the door. "Any requests?"

"No more fudge," said Chloe, clutching her round belly with a grimace.

"As many chips as my poor stomach can stand, and more root beer. C'mon, keep it coming."

Chuckling again, Saber headed for the kitchen. Chloe sank back into the sofa with a heavy sigh. "Something I can get for you, Chlo-bug?" asked Vector, sitting beside her gently and smoothing her hair back. "Besides labor, that is."

Still grimacing, his petite wife shook her head. Shrugging, Vector got up and went to rifle through the nearby game cabinet. He was debating what he should try to humiliate his best bud with next when Chloe suddenly let out a squawk. The white rodent spun around so fast he almost knocked the cabinet over. "What?" he cried.

Chloe's pink face had gone pale. "Either I just had an accident," she said weakly, "or my water just broke."

Vector felt his own face go pale - not that anyone would be able to tell. "Oh," he squeaked.

A second later Saber came back into the room, a bowl of chips in one hand, a bottle of root beer in the other and an energy drink tucked under his arm. He stopped with a frown. "What's up?"

Chloe let out a strange sound. "I think I ruined your sofa," she whimpered.

His bud, best bud that he was, put two and two together in a hurry. "Forget about it," he said calmly as he put what he was carrying down. "I just got a raise, I'll buy a new one later. Let's just take care of you, okay?"

Not wanting his best bud to show him up on the day his own son arrived, Vector recovered his wits in a hurry. "I can teleport us to the hospital," he suggested, doubting she wanted to hop on Saber's bike right now.

To his surprise, Chloe shook her head. "No teleports," she said. "Teleporting while in labor sounds like a bad idea to me."

Vector didn't see how it'd make a difference from all the other times she'd teleported while pregnant, but he knew better than to argue with her. He shrugged and looked at Saber. "I'm open to suggestions."

His best bud was busy grabbing his boots from where he'd kicked them off earlier. "Already on it," he said. "I'll be back in a minute."

Before Vector could protest, Saber had run out the door, leaving the two of them alone. Swallowing his nerves down, he went over and knelt beside the sofa. "Just take deep breaths," he told Chloe, taking her hand. "Everything'll be okay."

Despite his words, he knew Chloe could sense how nervous he was - which was even more nervous than she was. But he'd done plenty of studying in the last two months and had read how it was normal for an Imeeran to start crowning exceptionally fast after first going into labor. On the upside those extra strong muscles meant Chloe shouldn't be in much pain, but on the downside it meant the baby could be here long before Saber got back. And while he'd never admit it out loud, the thought of being here alone when Chloe delivered actually made him feel faint.

Not that he needed to admit it out loud. "If you faint while I'm giving birth," his wife warned, "I'll never speak to you again."

"I'm fine," Vector insisted, giving himself a shake. "We're both fine. You're fine, right? No pain yet?"

"No," said Chloe, her smile warm. "I may be small, but I'm tough."

Vector was glad to hear it, and glad that he had studied up on how strong Imeeran females inner muscles were, making labor easier for them than it was for most. But knowing that didn't stop him from worrying and fussing over her until Saber got back. And he didn't come back alone; Ashlin came trotting at his heels, with a medical bag in her hand and everything.

The two of them spent the next few minutes getting Chloe comfortable (with Saber again assuring her that he wasn't worried about the sofa) while Ashlin got all her tools ready. "And now," said Saber, as the golden-furred rodent positioned Chloe's feet, "we come full circle."

"We do?" asked Vector.

Ashlin merely smiled and continued positioning Chloe's feet before smoothing her skirt over her upturned knees. "Once upon a time this little lady helped deliver me," his best bud reminded him with a grin, "and now I get to help her deliver someone else."

"Uh-huh," Vector mumbled.

You wouldn't think dropping through an unfinished floor and then going through agonizing labor thanks to your baby putting his foot through your womb would be much to brag about, but Carbine never got tired of talking about when Saber was born. His own mother, on the other hand, preferred talking about the day she had Joy over bringing up when she delivered him alone on the bathroom floor.

He quickly pushed the thought out of his head and made himself comfortable next to the sofa, where he took Chloe's hand and didn't budge for the next hour or so. He spoke encouragingly to her, he stroked her forehead, he squeezed her hand whenever she had a contraction. Ashlin monitored her closely the whole time and said she was doing just fine.

Saber was monitoring her closely too - a little too closely. "Is that blood?" he suddenly asked, leaning closer.

"Just a little," said Ashlin. "It's normal."

Vector hastily snagged the back of his best friend's vest and jerked him away. "No looking where my wife's baby is coming from," he scolded.

"Okay," Saber said dryly, "_you_ look."

"Um..."

Just then Joy came back. "What's going on?" she asked as she joined them all in the game room.

"Chloe's getting ready to mess up the sofa," Saber told her, "but don't worry, I already said I'd buy a new one."

For a second Joy looked shocked - but then she came closer and socked her older brother in the arm. "Ouch! What are you hitting _me_ for?"

"Because that sounds like something you would say. You're a bad influence on him."

The joking moment passed and Joy knelt beside her brother with a face lined in concern. "Is she okay? Shouldn't we take her to the hospital?"

"She's doing great," Ashlin reported. "And she doesn't want to go to the hospital."

"Sounds like somebody's stubbornness is rubbing off on her. Way to share your most endearing qualities, big brother."

"Hey, I'm about to become a daddy. Quit picking on me."

"Have you decided on a name yet?" Ashlin asked, forever patient.

Vector fidgeted, his eyes on Chloe as she winced in pain. "Yes, but we weren't going to tell anyone until after he's born."

"I wouldn't worry about it," his petite wife grunted. "From the feel of it this kid is going to be born any second."

The thought made his stomach turn over, even though Chloe felt more excited than scared. Smiling softly, she gave his hand a squeeze. "We decided to call him Ratchet," she said.

"Nice," said Joy. "Whaddya gonna call your next kid? Pipe wrench?"

Vector elbowed her with a scowl - but he could tell her wisecracks were to cover up how nervous she was. He felt grateful that she was here, especially when Ashlin announced it was time for Chloe to start pushing and his little sister scooted to where she could easily lend a hand without being asked to. In turn Saber backed out of the way, though still staying close enough just in case he was needed for something, while Vector stayed right where he was - at his wife's side.

He was almost afraid Chloe would send him downward - and embarrassed that she could feel that he was feeling that way, because no doubt she could also feel that he didn't think he had the guts to do it. But she merely flashed him a grateful smile, and he could sense that she was glad he was here with her for this. And then he felt what was probably the strongest thing he'd ever sensed from her - the feeling of, 'it's time, now everyone leave me alone!'

As if she had also sensed that her patient didn't want to be bugged while she labored, Ashlin didn't start yelling 'push, push, push!' like doctors on TV did. Instead she gently coaxed her along with things like 'that's it' and 'almost there.'

All at once Chloe sank back and panted for breath, the rigidness evaporating from her body. The hand holding his went slack. Vector frowned; it was like she'd finished delivering, but it was so...quiet.

"Is that it?" he asked anxiously. "Is he here?"

Ashlin was bent over the opposite end of the sofa. "Yes," she said quietly.

"Why isn't he crying?"

The half-rat hesitated a moment. "He isn't breathing."

Chloe sat up with a start, her other hand shooting out to grab her husband's. Vector clung to her just as tightly as his heart sped up with a burst of worried fear. But Ashlin was already on it. "It's just a little fluid," she assured them. "Give me a second."

Vector couldn't quite see what she was doing, but he heard her huff air a couple of times. And then he saw a pair of tiny feet kicking as a small - but strong - cry rang out. "Awww, he has your lungs," Joy cracked.

Vector could only laugh in response, and so did Saber as he hugged his wife, who had tears in her eyes. Ashlin looked a little tired, but she was beaming as she finished wrapping the newest member of their family in a baby blanket before passing him to Vector. She didn't say anything, and neither did he - he couldn't. There were no words to describe how he felt when he saw his son for the first time.

The little guy was smaller than he imagined, and a little on the bony side. He had downy light brown fur with a yellowish undertone, and ears kind of like a...cat? Dog? Vector was having trouble coming up with something to compare them to, but they were kind of big, were triangle-shaped, and they flopped back from his broad forehead. His little face wasn't quite like a mouse, but close enough as far as Vector was concerned. He had a round head, a little black nose, and the large eyes that blinked opened and gazed at him were a deep blue-green.

For the longest time Vector just sat there, looking at him. Looking and feeling so grateful that everything had turned out so well. That his son was healthy and felt strong and sound. He was still drinking in the sight of him when a sharp feeling of hopeful anxiety made him look up. Chloe was watching them with a bright smile and eyes dewy with tears. "Your turn?" her husband asked with a grin.

"Yes, please," she said sweetly.

Still grinning, Vector scooted closer and carefully placed their tiny son in her waiting arms. As Ratchet fidgeted before settling in his mother's embrace, Vector saw something poking out from the blanket; a small, thin tail, with a yellow tuft of fur at the tip.

Chloe let out a joyous laugh. "He's adorable," she said. "He's just perfect."

"Of course he is," said Vector. "He's ours."

"If you ever need a babysitter, just let us know," Saber put in.

Vector looked over at his best friend and sister, and at their matching expressions. They were so happy for them but still couldn't quite hide the sadness they were both feeling. Knowing where it was coming from, Vector gave them an understanding smile. "You got it."

He turned to Ashlin, who was busy packing her tools away. "Thanks for everything," he told her. "You're the best."

"I've been telling you that for years," said Saber.

Ashlin chuckled as she got to her feet. "Don't mention it. When you're ready, stop by the hospital so we can give him a quick checkup, just to be safe."

Vector thanked her again before turning back to his wife, who was happily snuggling their new baby. "It's official," she said suddenly.

"What is?"

"Fatherhood," she replied with a grin. "You sure you're up to it?"

Vector grinned and put his arm around her. "More sure than ever."


End file.
